You Can Sit Beside Me When The World Comes Down
by Darling Pretty
Summary: Addison helps Alex to deal with Ava. So when Addison ends up in trouble, Alex helps out, figuring he owes her one. Addison/Alex.
1. In Which Literal Sitting Takes Place

**a/n: So, a new story has begun! This is kind of really just the prologue, but it's long and I didn't want to add anymore to it, so yeah. Sorry the sections are so short. It was kind of just how the story wrote itself... If I get enough reviews, I'll post the next chapter before Sunday (Greek Easter!). From there, I can't promise anything, because I go back to school. Blech. :P**

**disclaimer: I don't even own the title of the story. It's a line from an All-American Rejects song. All I can say is mine is the idea.**

**dedication: So I don't usually dedicate fics to anybody, but this one calls for it, I think. McMuffin, thanks for actually taking the time to read through my monsterous profile, and actually telling me that you would read this. It was just the kick in the ass I needed to actually type it up. So this one's for you. Cheers!**

* * *

Ava is back. Addison is back. How is it that the only two women in the world with the power to make him miserable are both here now? And Ava is pregnant. Great. Fantastic. He's not ready to be a father. He doesn't even think he wants kids ever.

Alex sits in an on-call room, trying to absorb everything. The door swings open. Addison stands there, bathed in the fluorescent light of the hallway. "Oh, uh, sorry," she stammers. She starts to back out of the room, but notices his stricken look. "Are you okay?" she asks. The funny thing is that it actually sounds like she cares.

He looks at her, trying to determine whether or not to share his "happy" news.

"Well?" she asks impatiently. Something in the tone of her voice, like she actually has someplace better to be, makes him want to shock her into staying, or at least into silence.

"Ava's pregnant," he informs her.

"Oh." The noise sounds like all of the air has just been forced out of her lungs. She sits besides him on the bed. The weird thing is that she seems just as shell-shocked as he is.

"Yeah."

She nods, but stays quiet. Instinct tells her that there's really nothing that can be said. Instead, all she can do is offer her presence. She sits with him in silence until he becomes aware enough to become embarrassed and leave.

0ooo0

Izzie is the one who tells her. The poor girl. She's bursting with a secret that may destroy one of her best friends, and it's too big to keep to herself. For some unexplainable reason, she chooses to unburden herself to Addison. It all comes rushing out in one big word, "_Ava'snotpregnantshe'sfakingIdon'tknowwhybutsheis." _After asking Izzie a second time, it becomes clear that Ava's not pregnant, she's faking, and Izzie doesn't know why, but she is.

Addison can't help her. She is seriously tempted to tell Izzie to just blurt it out and ruin the small bit of happiness, or at least acceptance, that Alex has developed since their on-call room incident. She knows it's petty, but she can't help it. She was fine in LA, but the second she stepped foot in Seattle again, all her humiliating feelings came rushing back, whether or not she wanted them to (and she most definitely did not want them to). But the same feelings that inspired the petty, jealous reaction, also won't allow her to so directly ruin his happiness. So when Izzie asks for advice, Addison merely shrugs, and says that Izzie has to do what she feels is right.

Izzie takes issue with this advice.

0ooo0

He finds her after his world comes crashing down around him. She listens to him as he explains Ava's psychotic break. "Oh, Alex, I am so sorry," she says quietly when he's done.

He shrugs. "Whatever.

She once again realizes the futility of any verbal comfort she might offer. They sit side by side in silence.

0ooo0

By the time Addison leaves, they have yet another complicated relationship. Though they don't really communicate outside the hospital, Addison is there when Alex needs someone. He has accepted responsibility for Ava and when things get too tough, he'll sit with her and they'll talk. Never about anything more important than the weather, mind you, but they talk. They never mention anything about their history, but it seems to be implicitly understood that things are okay between them.

When she leaves, he doesn't see her off or anything, but the last day before she goes, she slips him her phone number.

Not for anything but emergencies, of course.

0ooo0

She was home for all of two weeks before Alex calls her. But a lot can happen in two weeks. Like maybe sleeping with Pete. Lovely. That just makes her life oh so very much easier.

And then Alex calls her and just about all hell breaks loose. He informs her of Ava's suicide attempt.

Even though they're not really friends, she's on the next flight out of LA.

0ooo0

Alex appreciates Addison coming, especially after the way he's treated her. She's only there for a couple days—just long enough to assure herself that he is fine. Whenever she's near him, he can't help but remember how it used to feel standing next to her. It's never been simple between them, but just being in the same room together felt so right. Of course, he screwed it up, and they're still screwed up, but once their hands brush and he nearly jumps away from the shock of electricity that shoots between them. If he had looked closer, he would have noticed that she had the exact same reaction.

He thought he was over her. Apparently he was wrong.

0ooo0

That trip back to Seattle was a series of strange things and mistakes. She had once again created a weird, quasi-friendship thing with Alex and rekindled feelings that she had hoped and prayed would go away. And then, she may or may not have, sort of, almost, kind of, maybe slept with Mark again. Except there was no sort of, almost, kind of, maybe about it. It was a definite, certain, irrefutable event. And drunken, for that matter. Which, considering that she leaves two days later, wouldn't be a problem. That is, if she could remember if they'd used a condom.

0ooo0

Her third trip back to Seattle is for a surgery two weeks later, and is actually her final one. She knows it from the start. Things with Pete are just too weird now, and Sam and Naomi are always fighting, and she can just feel that LA has done everything it can for her.

Besides, if there is one thing Addison hates, it's quitting, and she can't help but feel that she definitely ran from Seattle and quit. And Addison Forbes Montgomery does not, under any circumstances, quit. Not without a fight first.

When she's finally moved up to Seattle (again), she rarely talks to anyone but Callie and Miranda. Derek is happy, and she's happy for him, but there's no need to be masochistic enough to talk to him, and she's still avoiding Mark (and doing a damn good job of it, too, she might add). There's no need to talk to Alex. Life is pretty calm, and their relationship is like 911—for emergencies only.

Three weeks after she returns, that 911 friendship becomes very useful.

* * *

**So, the quicker you review, the more you get.**

**Next up: Addison uses the 911 buddy system and a plan is put into action.**

**-Juli-**


	2. In Which Alex Comes To Addison's Rescue

**a/n: Dude, thanks for all the positive reviews! They really made my day! Also, a bunch of people said they liked the marathon of fics and updates, which, believe me, I do too. Now if only I always had this much free time. I can't promise another bunch of writing until summer, and even then I'm volunteering and getting a job. Goodness me, I'll be busy. But never fear. I have very persistant muses. They're incredibly stubborn sometimes. In fact, sometimes they even make me write during class. Which, if I keep getting reviews (cough, cough, hack, hack, hint, hint), I am perfectly willing to do.**

**Anyways... yeah, I still don't own it.**

* * *

He's the one that finds her in the on-call room this time. "You okay?" he asks.

She sniffs and shrugs, clutching a piece of paper.

"What's wrong?" He sounds genuinely concerned.

"I've got a problem," she announces. He waits, knowing that she'll eventually tell him. She looks down at the paper and mumbles something unintelligible.

"What?"

She looks up and says much louder, "I'm pregnant."

"Oh." It's the same noise she made when he told her that Ava was pregnant.

"Yeah."

"Does He know yet?" Alex gives "He" a definite capital letter.

"Considering I don't know _which_ he He is, I would say no, He does not know."

"Oh."

Silence.

Then Addison burst into another round of tears. Alex sits down awkwardly next to her. "What am I going to do?" she sobs. "Even if I knew who, Mark and Pete aren't exactly father material."

"Wait, Mark?" Alex asks. It's a kneejerk reaction, and he actually physically tenses up at the thought of Sloan's hands on her. He knows he's been a jackass in the past, but he actually cares about this woman. More than he's ever cared about someone in his whole life, if he's perfectly honest. Except his mom, of course.

Addison looks sheepish. "I was drunk," she explains, as if that answers all questions. Then the tears start up again. For the first time, the physical boundary they have instituted is broken when he hugs her and just lets her cry.

0ooo0

They break another boundary that night: they go out to dinner. Not like a date or anything, but sort of a commiserate-over-sucky-lives thing. "I don't know what to do," she admits as they sit at the table. The restaurant is a diner, harshly lit and completely unromantic, a fact which may or may not have entered both of their thought processes when choosing a place to eat. "Even if I knew who the father is, I don't want to tell either of them."

"Why?" he asks.

"Because I am not getting sucked back into the whole Mark thing again. And Pete—he's nice, but… I just… I don't want to be linked forever to him. I mean, I know that if he'd the father, then there's nothing I can really do about that, but I just don't want to have to create a long-term relationship with him, even an unromantic one. You'd understand if you knew him."

Alex chuckles and she glares, in shock that he would be so rude. "I'm sorry," he apologizes. "I just can't believe that you've managed to do this to yourself."

"I do have a special talent for screwing up my life," she admits.

"No," he protests.

"Yes."

"No, you have a ton going for you. I mean, maybe you don't make the best choices every once in awhile, but think about it long term. You're an amazing surgeon, you've got all the money you could ever need, and now you're going to have a family. I wouldn't call that screwing up."

She sighs. "I do. I'm going to be a single parent."

"There's nothing wrong with being a single parent," he informs her, a little more harshly than was required. She frowns and he sighs. "Sorry, it's... complicated."

She nods, accepting his answer. "Well, Mark's not going to believe that I slept with anyone outside the hospital. If I tell him Pete's the father, he'll think I'm making it up. And so will the rest of the hospital. And I have a feeling that they won't go for the whole immaculate conception thing either."

"No," Alex agrees with a laugh. "Probably not."

"And the second Mark finds out I'm pregnant, he's going to be all over me," Addison continues. "And he won't go away until I can tell him who the father is. Which I can't. So I'll be stuck with him forever."

A plan starts to form in Alex's mind. "I have an idea," he says.

"What?"

"Okay, so I don't even know if you'd consider it, but-"

"Karev, spit it out," she orders.

"Say it's mine."

"Huh?" is the lovely sound that comes out of Addison's mouth.

"Look, you're going to need someone to step up and say he's the dad. Everybody in the hospital already thinks we had a thing. Just pretend we slept together, we'll fake that we're dating for awhile, then break up, and no one thinks anything else."

"And you would do that? For me?" Addison asks skeptically.

"You were there for the entire Ava thing. Plus you flew up from LA like three times in a month. I figure I owe you."

"Thank you, Alex, really," she says carefully. "I mean, really, thank you, but…"

"Addison think about it. It makes sense. You were here at the right time, you can just say you felt sorry for me and relapsed into the weird thing we used to have."

It's the first time they've acknowledged the fact that they used to have a "weird thing", and neither knows how to react to it.

Addison thinks about it for a moment. "You're absolutely sure you're okay with it? I mean, one hundred and ten percent here, Karev," she asks seriously.

He nods.

She takes a deep breath. "Okay."

"You're sure."

"I am," she nods. "Congratulations, Karev, you've officially fathered my child."

He laughs and she can't help but laugh too. It makes her feel lighter than she has in weeks.

"Considering that I'm the father of your child, you should probably call me Alex," he points out.

"You're probably right about that. Considering I'm having your baby, you should probably call me Addison."

"Yeah."

"You realize that we're going to have to actually act like a couple," Addison blurts out.

"Yeah, I do. I'm okay with that. I'm the one who came up with the whole plan, remember?"

"Right. Well, when do we tell people? I mean, the Chief is going to have to know soon, and Miranda will find out because she always does, and Callie… I don't want to think about how pissed Callie's going to be when she knows that I've kept this secret from her for twenty-four hours."

"Relax, Addie, we'll tell them tomorrow," he tells her. She's taken aback by the use of her nickname. "Sorry, it, uh, it just felt like a good idea at the time."

She laughs. "You know what? Go for it. If it'll make this charade all the more believable, I'm all for it."

She doesn't add that she loves hearing the way he says her name.

* * *

**So there you have it, part two. Hopefully you enjoyed it enough to review (that's what is known as a slightly desperate, completely unsubtle hint). And now, I'm off to church for Communion! O Holy Week, how I love thee.**

**Next up: Addison and Alex start the charade.**

**-Juli-**


	3. In Which Callie Makes A Scene

**a/n: Christos Anesti! (Christ Has Risen!) (This is the part where you say Alithos Anesti, basically Truly He Has. But I don't expect you to know that.) Happy Greek Easter! Consider this my Easter present to you. Especially since I really doubt I'll update this quickly ever again. Sad face, I know. But I have this absolutely crazy idea! Since you all love me updating, what say you go and, gasp!, update your stories so I can read them! And guess what, I'll even review! First person to post a new Addison/Alex story or chapter of an Addison/Alex story gets my review virginity. Okay... awkward. I take that back. Gets my first review. That's better.**

**And I still don't own this.**

* * *

"So what you're telling me is that you two are dating?" the Chief summarizes what Addison and Alex have been explaining to him for the past ten minutes. "And you," Here he turns to Addison, "Are pregnant with his child?"

Addison clears her throat a bit nervously before answering. "Yes," she says with a glance at Alex.

"I don't want to be rude, but why haven't you informed me of this before?"

"It didn't really apply earlier, Richard," Addison explains. "We only…" She hesitates, trying to come up with the right word. "_Became involved_ when I came back for that surgery. I didn't work here then, and so you had no right to know."

Richard sighs. "You're right, of course. All right. Well, I suppose it would be hypocritical of me to ban you two from seeing each other. As long as it doesn't affect your work, aside from maternity leave, of course, then I really can't foresee any problems."

Addison smiles as she and Alex stand. "Thank you, Richard," she says.

The Chief waits until they're across the room and almost out the door to call, "Karev?"

Both Addison and Alex turn to face him. "Yes, sir?"

"Take care of her."

Alex grins. "I will, sir." Then he laces his fingers through hers. As they walk, he leans in to whisper in her ear. Both of them are acutely aware that, to anyone without knowledge of their charade, it appears incredibly intimate. But that would change if they heard him. "More believable," he whispers. He's explaining why he's holding her hand.

She turns her head into his to whisper back, "Good idea."

They smile at each other; a lovers' smile that they both remind themselves is for show.

0ooo0

Addison drops her lunch tray down across from Callie with a thud. "I have news," she announces.

Callie looks up from her lunch. "What were you and Alex Karev doing in the Chief's office together?"

"Word gets around fast," Addison comments. Callie glares at her for daring to even attempt to steer clear of the subject. "Okay, so the thing is… Alex and I…"

"Oh my God, you've totally jumped on the intern/attending bandwagon, haven't you?" Callie exclaims.

"Okay, he's not an intern, he's a resident, and-"

"Oh my God, you so did! And you didn't tell me?!"

"It's a relatively new thing," Addison mutters.

"But you're already telling the Chief? I don't want to be judgmental or anything, but don't you think that's jumping the gun just a little? Now you've probably gone and jinxed it or something."

"I haven't jinxed anything, Callie," Addison sighs, exasperated.

"So what's your reason for telling Webber already?"

"Reason?"

"Oh, come on, Addison. Even you aren't so professional that you confess to the Chief every single time you sleep with Mark."

Addison winces. "Let's agree to never bring him up again."

"Why?"

"Well, let's see… There's the fact that I'm dating Alex and Alex hates Mark and Mark hates Alex. Or there's the fact that…" At this point, Addison drops her voice and mumbles something completely unintelligible.

"What?" Callie asks. "Either you just started mumbling or I have developed a sudden-onset hearing disease, because I totally missed out the last part of that sentence."

"I said that…" Addison hesitates. Then she draws a breath and says in a confident voice, "I said that I'm pregnant with his child."

"Wait, are we talking Mark or Alex here? Because we're talking about two distinctly different hes here."

"Alex."

"Wait, what?!" Callie shrieks.

"Callie, you're making a scene," Addison hisses, embarrassed.

"Oh no, Addison, you don't get to tell me that you're dating your intern _and _are having his baby, and expect me to not make a scene!" Callie practically yells. "We're way past the point where it's okay for me to make a scene!"

Addison is acutely aware that the cafeteria has become silent. "Callie, please, keep your voice down," Addison begs.

Callie takes a breath and calms down. She waits until the usual hum of fifty different conversations returns. "Sorry. It's just you drop these two _huge _bombs on me in two minutes. But I'm good now."

"Yeah, after telling the entire hospital," Addison mutters.

"Hey, you just be grateful I'm not currently strangling you. And the only thing stopping me is because you and Karev's unborn child hasn't done anything to deserve that kind of stress except be created, and that's all on you and your stupidity."

"What?"

"You two have been going out for how long now?"

Addison glances at her watch. "Approximately eighteen hours." She sees the confused look on Callie's face and continues, "If you mean how long we've been sleeping together, it was a little over a month ago."

"Madre de Dios, Addison!" Callie exclaims in Spanish. Never a good sign. Callie only uses Spanish when she's really and truly pissed off.

"What? Why are you getting mad at me?"

"You're both doctors! The idea of safe sex never occurred to you?!"

Addison sighs. "It was kind of a spur of the moment thing."

"I don't think I ever realized you're this stupid."

"Oh, don't tell me that you haven't done the exact same thing," Addison snaps. "You just didn't have the misfortune to end up pregnant."

Callie nods after a moment. "Okay. I forgive you. No, wait, still mad about something else. Why the hell didn't you tell me sooner?!"

"Callie, we slept together _once_ and I left the next day. It didn't warrant me telling you."

"Okay, one, anytime you get some from anyone interesting, i.e. Alex Karev, it warrants you telling me. And B) I meant about the you being pregnant thing."

"Oh. I only found out yesterday. I've known for all of twenty-four hours, and I figured that I should probably let him know first. Only seems fair."

"Wait a second," Callie says. Addison can see things clicking into place in her mind. "Didn't he say he wasn't interested?"

"Yeah, but that was before."

"So what changed?"

"I don't know," Addison says honestly, "When I told him he flipped out. But once he calmed down, he said he wanted to be part of the baby's life."

"And he has to date you to do so?" Callie asks skeptically. "And it still doesn't explain the whole not interested thing."

"He lied," Addison shrugs. "That's all he said. He didn't explain it, and I don't need him to."

"Really?"

"Really. I just need him with me, okay? I need his support."

"Holy crap, you're in love, aren't you?"

Addison's eyes turn the size of dinner plates. "What?! No! No. No. Not… just… no," she stutters.

"Repeating no over and over again isn't going to change the fact that you are."

Addison recovers from the shock. "I like him. I do. I don't love him. And besides, we just agreed that we'll go out, see where it takes us."

"Pregnancy has made you soft. I still say you should demand an explanation better that "I lied", but since I know you won't, I forgive you. And I have decided to be happy for you."

"Thank you."

"So what was that news you wanted to tell me?"

Addison groans.

0ooo0

Alex is sitting with his friends when Callie makes her scene. All eyes at the table quickly turn to him. "What?" he asks, his mouth full of a half-masticated hamburger.

"Ew," Izzie comments.

"Yeah, no joke," Cristina agrees. "Him and Satan—ew."

"Is it true, Alex?" Meredith asks.

"What?" he asks nonchalantly. He's enjoying the power.

"About you and Dr. Montgomery," Meredith clarifies. "You got her pregnant?"

He shrugs. "Yeah? So?"

"So? So?!" Izzie exclaims. "Do you have any idea how much responsibility that is?!"

"Christ, Iz, you make it sound like I'm getting a dog or something."

"Stop joking around!" Izzie commands. "Do you even have a plan? Are you even planning on acting like an adult here?!"

Alex gets up. He knew that this deluge of pointed questions is what the Izzie attack would consist of, and has already figured out the best possible defense. Very calmly, and very quietly, he says, "The plan, Iz? The plan is I'm going to support my _girlfriend _every step of the way, and for the rest of her life, if she'll let me."

Then he walks away.

He was right, Izzie is too shell-shocked to run after him. She looks at her remaining friends. "He meant that," she observes in amazement. "He meant every last word of that."

0ooo0

Meredith chases him down later that day. "Alex!" she exclaims just as he's about to head to the locker room to change.

He turns. "What?"

"I just wanted to say… I wanted to say congratulations. Nobody else did today. You sound like you have everything together, so I think you deserve congratulations."

He smiles. "Thanks, Mer."

"I mean, it sounds like you really love her, so…"

"W-what?" he stammers. "Love? No… Mer, I don't… It's not like that."

Meredith grins. "Oh, it so is _exactly_ like that."

"No… I… No."

Meredith shakes her head with a laugh. "Whatever you say, Alex. Well, even if you don't love her, you deserve to be happy. And it seems like you're going to be happy. Even if it's complicated."

"Complicated?" he laughs. "Mer, you have _no _idea."

* * *

**Review for me equals review for you. Assuming you're writing an Addison/Alex story that is.**

**Kalo Pascha!**

**-Juli-**


	4. In Which Mark Yells

**a/n: Sorry about the delay everybody! I feel bad because you've all been so good about reviewing and then I go and disappear off the face of the earth for a week. Sorry about that. Who knew reality could be so troublesome? I much prefer my little denial world that I've created here. Too bad life doesn't like me to visit very often. Anyways, not important. Here, go read now. I'm sorry it's short.**

**disclaimer: Really, if we all band together, I do believe we could take over Shondaland. Until then, I own nothing.**

* * *

She knew it was inevitable. She knew the second Callie blew up in the cafeteria that the hospital would be buzzing with the news of her and Alex. She also knew the second Callie blew up in the cafeteria that she was going to have to deal with a second scene.

She tunes back into Mark's rant in time to catch, "God, what are you thinking, Addie? Your intern? I mean, you must screwed him right around the time you slept with me. Did I do something to make you angry and you need a revenge screw?"

Addison looks at him incredulously. How is it that he can turn everything to center on him? "No, Mark, I didn't need a _revenge screw_," she says.

"So what made you do it then, Addie?"

"I'm allowed to sleep with whoever I want, Mark! You don't get a say in my sex life! You don't get a say in my life at all! It's not any of your business! Especially not now!"

"Oh, so I'm just supposed to be okay with you running around, sleeping with everyone you see, and coming back to me whenever you get bored?"

Tears spring up in Addison's eyes. She knew he would be angry, but this is low, even for Mark. She blinks back the tears long enough to snap, "It's what I've been doing with you for the past year." Then she turns on her heel and quickly walks away before she can break down into tears. If she were less emotional, she would notice Alex following her.

She finds an empty supply closet and promptly closes the door, sinks down, and starts to cry. Alex comes in within ten seconds. Within another five, she's sobbing into his shoulder. When she calms down, he looks at her. "Sloan is an ass," he announces. "You can't listen to him, Addison."

"But that's the thing," she sniffs. "He's right."

"What? You aren't like that at all."

She laughs bitterly. "Sure I am. I cheated on my husband with his best friend, I stayed with Mark for months before chasing my husband, I slept with you, left, then I slept with Pete, came back, and slept with Mark. I don't know who my baby's father is. Let's face it. I'm a complete slut."

"Addison, you're not a whore."

"No, I'm not," she agrees with a sardonic smile. "Because then at least I'd be getting paid for sleeping around."

"Stop it."

"Well, it's true. And, anyways, it doesn't matter. I just have to-"

"Montgomery, snap out of it!" he finally snaps.

She is taken aback. She's always the one to yell first. "Look at me," he commands when she won't meet his eyes. "Addison, look at me." He waits until she finally makes eye contact. "You can't let Sloan get to you. He's an asshole and he's going to try to make you miserable. The only way to fight back is to not let him. Okay?"

"I… I just… He says he loves me," she practically whispers.

Alex shakes his head. "He doesn't. Maybe he thinks he does. But you don't love someone if you can say the things he says to you."

She smiles wryly. "And you know this because you're such an expert?"

He pretends to be offended. "Oh, I get it. I chase you down to a closet, I cheer you up, and you insult me. I get it."

She laughs. "No, it's not like that. I promise. I'm grateful. Really."

"Not a problem," he smiles.

"Well, thank you."

They sit in silence for a moment, this time incredibly careful not to touch, although neither would admit to that. Finally, Alex says, "You know, mess up your hair and straighten your clothes when we go out, and we can pretend we just had sex."

She snorts. "You are such a pig."

"I'm just looking out for you. It can't be good for your rep if word gets around that you were crying in a closet."

"Looking out for me, huh?"

"Look at it this way… It'll drive Sloan crazy," he says enticingly.

It only takes a second for her to stand and start running her hands through her hair, trying to achieve the effect of sex-mussed hair. He smiles, watching her. "I can't believe you're actually going for this," he comments.

She glances at him. "I want revenge for making me feel like this, and pushing him off the roof isn't an option. You're the next best thing.'

"Oh, thanks," he says sarcastically. "Glad to know the roof tops me."

"No, I just-" Addison starts to explain.

"Chill. It's cool. Look, I'll go now. Wait two minutes or so, then come out. It would help if you could look a little guilty."

Before she can answer, he pushes the door open. She waits for two minutes or so, then exits the closet, tugging down her skirt and combing her hair with her fingers. She notes the nurses whispering with a certain amount of satisfaction. She hears one of them whisper something about hot closet sex. Addison just looks at her and smiles mysteriously.

This sets off an entirely new round of whispers and she has no doubt the fact that her rendezvous with Alex in the supply closet will be around the hospital within the hour.

* * *


	5. In Which There Is Another Scene

**a/n: Okay. Hello. Sorry this is so short, but I just wanted to post something, and this is what I had written. So enjoy the shortness.**

**disclaimer: Although I have begun planning for the possession of Shondaland, I have yet to gain the necessary support for my endeavor, and therefore still own nothing.**

* * *

She was right—the news about her hot closet sex is around the hospital before she can say rumor. Mark finds her within the hour. She sees him coming, thankfully. He doesn't blindside her this time. She beats him to the punch, and when he storms up, she informs him, "You don't get a say. Will you just accept the fact that I'm moved on and happy?"

He disregards her question. "So you'll have his baby, but not mine?"

Addison sighs. She doesn't want to hurt him, not this badly, but there's really no other choice. "Mark, you weren't ready. _I _wasn't ready."

"So you just get to make the choice for both of us, just because you're the one who's actually pregnant?"

"Mark, I just-" she starts to explain.

Mark interrupts her. "Do you regret it? Ever?"

Addison sighs again. "In a weird way… no." He looks like that physically hurts him, and she hastens to fix it. "I mean, I do. Every day. I regret it every second. You think I like thinking that I could have a baby right now? Because thinking like that makes me hate myself. I regret it. I do. But at the same time… we would have made terrible parents, Mark."

"Oh, and you and Karev are so much better?" he asks, clearly aiming to hurt her.

And that's when she snaps. She's just told him everything she can, everything she felt, and he just dismissed it all, just so he could get it one more shot at her. As if she wasn't hurting already. "You know what?" Addison replies. "At least he's not sneaking off and screwing everything in a skirt."

For the second time that day, she turns and walks away from him.

0ooo0

As she walks out of the hospital, Callie catches up with her. "So I heard about Mark," she comments.

Addison looks at her. "Hi Callie."

"He has no right to treat you like that."

"How are you? Me? Oh, I'm good. I'm all good," Addison teases.

"Seriously, do you want me to break bones. I totally will."

"You know, I'm glad you have absolutely no social life of your own, and therefore must fixate on mine," Addison comments mildly.

"I do it for a living. I could break his kneecaps."

"It's really nice, living under a microscope."

"Or I could just push him down the stairs."

"Really, I enjoy existing solely for your entertainment."

"I could make it look like an accident."

"Okay, really, Callie, stop," Addison finally reacts, and that's only because Callie actually sounds as if she's doing some plotting.

"Finally. Geez, that took you long enough."

"I don't need you to break bones for revenge. It's okay. I've got it under control."

"Yeah, I heard about you and Karev's romp in the closet."

Addison blushes, even though nothing actually happened. "Not what I was talking about, but it's nice to know that someone's so attentive to the rumor mill."

"So the fact that it was shortly after Mark screamed at you has nothing to do with you getting revenge," Callie says skeptically.

"No. It doesn't. He's my boyfriend; shouldn't I be able to sleep with my boyfriend without being interrogated? Besides, I have a different revenge for Sloan," Addison explains. She smiles, thinking about how only she and Alex will ever know the truth about her baby. Honestly, just knowing that she wields so much power is enough revenge. He doesn't have to be aware that she's getting her revenge.

"Oh? Sounds juicy. What?"

Addison hesitates. "I can't tell you."

"You know, I'm going to get it out of you someday."

"And someday, I'll tell you. Just, for right now, the less people that know, the better."

"Oh my God. Addison, I just want to remind you—murder is illegal. Society tends to frown on it."

Addison laughs and rolls her eyes. "I'm not going to kill him. My revenge is so much more satisfying than that." She places her hand on her stomach subtly. Callie doesn't notice.

"So what are you going to do?"

Addison smiles. "Nothing. I'm going to do absolutely nothing. But that's all I can tell you."

Callie frowns. "You will tell me one day, won't you?"

"I promise. Just not yet."

"Okay."

"Thank you."

* * *

**Wow. Alex didn't even make an appearance in this chapter. That might be a first for me. I rather think it is. But don't worry, my fellow Addex lovers, he will be back. But you can tell me how much you missed him in a review... :D **

**-Juli-**


	6. In Which An Invitation Is Offered

**a/n: Well, I promised Alex would make an appearance, did I not? This is just a short little chapter to let you know where this is heading, since I doubt that I'll be updating this weekend (Prom!).**

**disclaimer: Still not mine.**

* * *

"Alex! Hey, Alex!" Meredith calls.

He turns around. "Hey, Mer," he greets her.

"Hi. Okay, so, Izzie wants to have this dinner thing. I don't really know. All I know is that she has a new cake thing she wants to make or something. I don't know. But so she wants to have a dinner thing, and you're invited, obviously, because you live in the house. So you're invited, and so is Addison. Because we all figure we should get to know her, you know? Because we don't, but since she's your girlfriend and there's that whole thing, we figure…"

"Yeah, Mer. Got it."

"Okay, good," Meredith sighs. "I was starting to ramble. But, yeah, so it's Friday, and you guys should come."

"I don't know…"

"Oh, come on, Alex. You guys are going to have to come out of your little bubble sometime. And Izzie is probably going to kill you if you don't. So you should come."

"I… I'll ask Addison. I don't care, but it's up to her."

"Okay. Well, you should come."

"We'll see."

"Okay. Just tell me soon, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

0ooo0

That night, Addison and Alex walk out of the hospital together. It just makes sense that they would leave together. After all, they are dating.

"So Meredith wants me to ask you if you want to go to dinner at the house on Friday."

Addison freezes and eyes him warily.

"Actually," he continues. "She wants to know if _we _do, but since I already live there, it's really all about you. Anyways, I said I'd ask you."

"Us," Addison says slowly. "At dinner. With Meredith Grey."

"And Izzie and a couple other people, but yeah."

"Can we get out of it?" Addison asks hopefully.

"I don't think so."

Addison sighs. Then she looks away from him. "Do you think we can pull it off?" she inquires quietly.

"Pull what off?"

She refuses to meet his eyes. "Acting like we actually like each other enough to be dating."

"Sure," Alex shrugs. "Why not? I mean, I don't have a problem with it."

Addison is shocked into looking up. "Oh. Okay. Well. Okay. I guess we're going then."

* * *

**So this next chapter should be fun...**

**Next up: A dinner party is attended, and some progress is made. ;)**

**-Juli-**


	7. In Which A Dinner Is Attended

**a/n: Wow, sorry it's been so long. I didn't intend to be gone this long, but life got crazy. I'm sort of back now, but finals start on Friday and go until Tuesday, so I won't be truly back until next Tuesday. At least this chapter is pretty long.**

**So, on the dinner party thing... When I wrote the last chapter, I thought I was going to indulge in one of my favorite overdone storylines that I have yet to write- the party where everybody gets hammered (except Addison, in this case, of course) and people play Truth or Dare and/or Spin the Bottle (usually and). Instead, I got a small, decently behaved dinner party, with no alcohol in sight, but I think it turned out better this way. **

**P.S. Thanks to everybody for their prom well-wishes. It was the most fantastic night ever!**

**disclaimer: I'm plotting the takeover as we speak.**

* * *

Addison shifts nervously from foot to foot. Since Alex lived in the house, it made no sense for him to arrive with her. The sensible thing to do was to meet him at the house, but that also meant she had to deal with these moments of dread alone.

The door swings open to reveal Izzie. She's wearing a skirt, and Addison feels better knowing that she guessed the dress code correctly and is neither over nor under dressed. "Hi!" Izzie squeals, her voice reaching a frequency almost inaudible to humans.

"Hi," Addison says quietly with a smile.

Izzie makes a move, almost like she's going to hug Addison, but thinks better of it. "Come on in," she invites in a much more normal voice. "I'll take your coat."

"Thanks, Dr. Stevens," Addison says.

"Oh, please, it's Izzie. After all, you're practically family now."

Addison smiles. "Thank you, Izzie. But I wouldn't count myself as family just yet." Addison says this a little sadly, but she tries to shake the thought of her and Alex's impending break up out of her head.

Izzie frowns. "What? Is everything okay between you and Alex?" She actually sounds a little worried.

That snaps Addison out of her little introspective, melancholy mood. "Oh! No. Everything is fine. He's been absolutely amazing about everything. I just meant… There's a lot that can go wrong. But enough about that. I've been looking forward to this dinner all week—Alex says that you're a force to be reckoned with in the kitchen."

Izzie blushes at the compliment. "He's exaggerating, but I've never heard any complaints. Anyways, everyone is in the living room. Um, actually, it's just you and Alex, me, and Meredith and Derek. I hope that's okay. I meant for it to be bigger, but things just didn't work. I invited George and Callie and Cristina, but apparently Mr. Torres is in town, and George and Callie had to go to dinner with him, and Cristina's covering George's shift."

Addison pales a little at the thought of sitting through a dinner with just her ex-husband, his girlfriend, his girlfriend's best friend, and her own fake boyfriend. "N-no, that's fine," she stammers. And then she takes a deep breath and decides that it really is okay.

"We're all in here." Izzie leads the way into a semi-formal dining room directly off the kitchen. Addison takes a deep breath and enters the room.

The first thing she sees is Derek and Meredith doing their cute, couple-y thing, which makes her a little more nauseous than she already is. But she grits her teeth and bears it.

"Hey," Alex greets her quietly, snaking an arm around her waist. She nearly jumps in surprise, but then she remembers that they have to act like a couple.

She turns her head to face him. "Hi," she says. He leans in and kisses her directly on the lips. And she thought the shock of his arm around her waist was bad. She can't help it, she gasps into his mouth.

He pulls his mouth away from hers, and, for a split second, she can still feel his lips. "Sorry," he whispers into her ear. She laughs as if he's just told the funniest joke in the world, then whispers, "It's okay," into his ear.

Izzie emerges from the kitchen, announcing, "Dinner is served!"

Everyone sits down, but Alex pulls out Addison's chair for her. She smiles gratefully. Even though she is independent and can take care of herself, it is nice to know that chivalry isn't completely dead.

"It's just chicken," Izzie says, a bit mournfully.

"It looks great, Iz," Meredith replies.

"Seriously," Alex adds.

"Well, you guys know dinner's not exactly my specialty." Izzie looks at Addison and repeats, "Dinner's not my specialty."

"The kitchen is not my specialty," Addison retorts with a wry smile. "I'm just thankful to have a dinner that's not from a restaurant." Everyone laughs at that.

"You're welcome to come over here any time," Meredith comments. "I mean, we don't usually do sit down dinners or anything, but there's usually food of some sort."

"Oh, I…" Addison stammers, surprised at the offer.

"You should come sometime, Addie," Alex says, a mischievous glint in his eye. She can tell that he's trying to get her into some sort of trouble, so she glares at him. She just doesn't know what he's trying to get her into yet.

"I… I guess I can drop by some time," she concedes.

Alex leans over and kisses her quickly, placing one hand on the side of her face. "You're in for it now," he laughs.

"What?"

His hand is still cupping her face when he says, "You're getting drawn in, and once you're in, you're never going to leave." He doesn't look opposed to the idea.

"Who says I want to?" she replies coyly.

Suddenly, Derek has a coughing fit. Everyone looks to make sure that he's okay. "Sorry," he says after a moment. "Bone."

Addison glares at him; she knows the game he's playing. "It's boneless, Derek. There aren't any bones."

"Oh. I just… Er… Can I talk to you outside, Addison?"

She purses her lips and weighs her options. "Fine."

The pair goes out onto the porch out of habit. They've always had their important talks on the porch. "What, Derek?" Addison asks, unable to keep a hint of annoyance out of her voice.

"How well do you know Alex?" he asks immediately.

"Geez, Derek, try for an introduction next time, will you?"

"Answer me."

"Obviously pretty well," she answers, gesturing at her stomach.

"I didn't mean like that. I just… I'd hate to see you get hurt, Addie."

"You didn't seem too concerned when you were screwing your girlfriend behind my back," Addison snaps. She's sick of people questioning her choices. But at the same time, he didn't really deserve that either. "Sorry," she sighs. "That was uncalled for. I'm just… under a lot of stress right now."

"I can imagine," he says sympathetically.

"Look, Derek," she exhales. "I know that you're trying to look out for me, and I know that this is the only way you know how to do that, but getting jealous and faking coughing fits isn't going to help either me or Meredith. You and her seem happy, and I'm happy about that. You both deserve it. So don't screw it up by doing the whole jealous thing, because Grey doesn't seem like the type of woman who's going to see it as a protection thing. You're happy, and I'm happy, and maybe my happiness is coming in a weird way, but I'm happy, and that's what counts. And, yeah, maybe Alex and I will break up tomorrow, and maybe my happiness will be gone, but that's my business, not yours."

"Just… be careful, Addie. You're playing with fire here."

"Stop worrying about me, Derek. I'm not your responsibility anymore."

"Just promise me."

"Fine," Addison sighs. "I promise. Can we go inside now? It's absolutely freezing out here, and it's starting to rain."

He laughs. "It's Seattle, Addison. It's always raining."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Fair enough," Derek concedes. They head back into the dining room.

"Everything okay?" Izzie asks with a forced cheeriness.

"Yeah," Addison smiles. "Everything's fine."

0ooo0

"Remind me why you're not a pastry chef again?" Meredith asks Izzie after everyone is done with dessert. "Because that was seriously amazing."

"It's not a big deal," Izzie blushes.

"It really was good, Izzie," Addison adds.

"And this coming from the woman who's had dessert in just about every New York and Parisian café there is," Derek continues.

Izzie's face continues its progression through the different shades of red.

"Anyways," Addison says, pushing her chair back from the table. "I should get going."

Izzie, glad for something to do other than be complimented, shoots up and walks to the window to look outside. "It's coming down pretty hard," she says warily. "I don't think you should drive."

Addison laughs. "I've driven in rain, believe me."

"But look outside. You can barely see five feet in front of you. I really don't think you should drive."

"I'll be fine," Addison insists.

"You really should stay, Addison," Meredith pipes up. "The roads are going to be awful."

"I'm fine."

"Addison," Alex speaks up. "You're staying."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"I can drive, Alex. I'm not some sixteen-year-old who's had her license for a day!"

"I don't doubt you," Alex replies. "But you're insane if you think I'm going to let you drive in this and end up wrapped up around some telephone pole or tree or something. You're staying here, and that's it."

"Alex…"

"No, Addison. This isn't a conversation. I would prefer you stay alive for the next eight months," he snaps.

The reminder of the baby is obviously the right card to play, because the fight goes out of Addison's posture. "Fine," she snaps. "But I'm not happy about it."

"She can sleep in my room," Alex tells everyone else. "I'll show her."

He leads her upstairs to his room. "I could have gotten home fine," Addison insists.

"Addison, it would have looked terrible if I let you drive home in this. And since we manage to carry this thing off this far, it would be stupid to screw it up over something like you driving home."

"Alex, you letting me go home doesn't exactly scream that we're not actually dating."

"Yeah, it does. Maybe not exactly, but it does. If we _were _dating, and you were pregnant with my kid, there's no chance I'd let you out of my sight in weather like this. My friends know that." He digs in his dresser and pulls out a T-shirt and pair of boxers. Instead of giving her time to respond, he says, "Here."

"What?" Addison asks, confused with the clothing.

"I assume you don't want to sleep in your skirt."

"Oh. Right." He smiles and she smiles back. "Thank you, Alex," she says. "For everything."

"Not a problem. I'll, uh, I'll let you get changed."

"Thanks."

He leaves and she's changed long before he returns. When he does, though, he knocks. She smiles; who knew Alex Karev was such a gentleman? "Come on in," she calls. He opens the door, bearing blankets and then grabs a pillow of the bed. "What are you doing?" Addison asks.

"You can have the bed," he explains. "I'll sleep on the floor."

"Alex, there's more than enough room for both of us on the bed. I'm fine with sharing."

"You sure?"

"Think about it, Alex. How good would it look if Izzie or someone were to come in for whatever reason and saw you sleeping on the floor? It doesn't exactly make our story believable."

"True," he agrees, but there's a note of uncertainty in his voice.

"It's fine. Really," she says, more to convince herself of the fact than anything else.

Awkwardly, they get into bed, each hugging their side of the bed so they don't accidentally touch. It takes awhile, but eventually they drift off to sleep.

0ooo0

Around three in the morning, Alex wakes up. Groggily, he checks the time on the clock and rolls over to go back to sleep. But then he realizes that his bed is empty, and this is the one night when it's not supposed to be. He starts to panic. Addison is stubborn, and it's completely possible that she waited for him to fall asleep and then drove home. Which means that she could be anywhere—at her hotel, on the road, or worse. He doesn't want to think about the possibility of the or worse.

He jumps out of bed, already making a mental checklist of things he'll need to grab in order to search for her. First step, keys. But those are downstairs. He goes to grab them. To get to the stairs, he has to pass the bathroom. When he does, he notices the light on, and then becomes aware of the sound of someone throwing up.

The door isn't fully shut, and the light coming through the crack casts a line onto the floor. He knocks quietly, then sticks his head inside. He finds Addison white knuckled, clinging to the toilet, attempting to be quiet as she expels the contents of her stomach. Without asking permission, he's in the bathroom the second he realizes what he sees. She looks up when he kneels down beside her and begins holding her hair back from her face, but then returns to being sick. He holds her hair in one hand and rubs circles on her back with the other. Finally, she seems to gain control.

"Sorry," she croaks.

"Don't worry about it," he replies. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she assures him. "The baby just refuses to let me keep food down."

"You're never sick at the hospital," he points out.

"The baby also has a very literal definition of the word morning," Addison replies wryly. "I'm up every night from three to four, throwing up. Just like clockwork, which makes me think the baby is Mark's. Pete has never been on time to anything in his life." She gives a little cynical laugh. Then her face turns ashen, and she turns back to the toilet. He holds her hair back and rubs her back again. When he can see her face again, there are tears falling from her eyes.

"Hey, it's okay," he says, pulling her into a hug.

"I'm sorry," she cries. "I'm sorry I'm making you miss out on sleep."

"I don't care," he tells her. "It's okay."

"You need to sleep," she says, pulling away from him. "Go back to bed. Don't stay up because of me."

"No," he replies. She opens her mouth to retort, but her face returns to its ashen color, and she begins to throw up again. "I'm here, Adds," he tells her quietly as he continues to hold her hair and rub her back. "As long as you need me, I'm here."

* * *

**So I hope you enjoyed it enough to drop me a review! ;)**

**-Juli-**


	8. In Which Addison & Alex Fight Over Sleep

**There's not exactly much substance to this chapter, but it's kind of fluffy, and I kind of like it.**

**I have yet to obtain Grey's, to the best of my knowledge.**

* * *

When Addison wakes up the next morning, she panics for one nauseating second until she remembers exactly where and why she is where she is. That provides a second of relief until she remembers that Alex spent a good half an hour taking care of her last night and then she becomes mortified. Why is he being so nice to her? It's not like he _actually _got her pregnant. But now that she's thinking about Alex, where the hell is he?

Warily, she gets up and pads downstairs to the kitchen, where she sees something she never thought she would see—Alex Karev in the kitchen. Standing by the stove. Making pancakes and scrambled eggs.

Izzie looks up from the refrigerator, where she is currently digging around for juice. "Morning, Addison," she says cheerfully.

"Morning."

Alex abandons his place at the stove long enough to kiss her. Addison tries to deny the idea that she wouldn't mind waking up to this every morning.

"Morning," he tells her, returning to the breakfast.

"Am I the last one awake?" she asks. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You need sleep, Addie," Alex explains without ever turning his attention away from the food.

"One night of missing out on an hour of sleep isn't going to kill me, Alex. You could have woken me up," she insists stubbornly.

"Stop being difficult," he orders.

Addison opens her mouth to retort, but Izzie takes the opportunity to drop a large amount of plastic plates on the floor. "Oh, sorry," she apologizes, but Addison gets the distinct feeling that she's not sorry at all. "Do you guys always argue over such stupid things?"

"We're not arguing," Addison and Alex deny in unison.

"Okay then," Izzie replies with a laugh.

"Addison, do you want eggs?" Alex asks.

"No, thanks, I'm not too hungry."

"You should eat something," he says.

"I'm not hungry, Alex, so why should I?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that you don't have anything in your stomach right now."

"What?" Izzie asks, confused. "You ate last night, didn't you? I mean, I swore we had a whole conversation about the moistness of the chicken."

"I did," Addison explains. "It's just…" she trails off, unsure if she wants to reveal the reason.

"Morning sickness?" Izzie finishes for her. "I've been there. It sucks."

"What?" Addison and Alex both ask.

Izzie sighs. "I don't really know why I'm telling you this, but when I was 16, I got pregnant. I gave her up for adoption."

"Izzie, I—" Addison starts, trying to come up with something to say, some condolence or even just a lame banality would be acceptable. Izzie interrupts her.

"It's okay. I've already done the whole feeling sorry for myself thing, I'm over that. It's not that big of a deal anymore. But I know what you're going through. Well, not exactly, since the father was nowhere near as great as Alex, and took off at the word pregnancy, but… I'm here, if you ever want to talk."

"Thank you. Really," Addison says genuinely.

"It's not a problem. But you really should eat something."

Addison sighs now. "I'm going to have both of you nagging at me, aren't I?"

Izzie nods. "Yep. And I wouldn't be surprised if Mer gets in on the action too. After all, you _are_ basically carrying our niece or nephew."

Addison looks away. Izzie assumes that it's because she's embarrassed, but Alex can see that she's feeling guilty and determines to rescue her. "Quit freaking her out with the family crap, Iz," he orders. "She'll probably break up with me because she's terrified of you. And then I'm going to have to kick your ass."

Addison laughs." I'm not going to break up with you because of Izzie," she comforts him. "But if you don't give me some of those pancakes, that is an entirely different story."

He places two pancakes on a plate with a fork and knife and pours syrup on them. But when Addison reaches for it, he pulls the plate out of her reach. "What's your problem?" she laughs. "Give me the pancakes!"

He just stares blankly at her, waiting for her to decode what will get her what she wants. The second she figures it out, she glares at him. He just raises an eyebrow and waits. With a heavy sigh and an eye roll, she navigates her way around the island and kisses him. She had only meant for it to be peck, but somehow it gets turned into something much, much more. She's vaguely aware of Izzie leaving the room and of him setting the plate down on a strategically placed counter as the kiss deepens.

"Good morn—Whoa, hello!"

Addison and Alex break apart at the sound of Meredith's voice. They stare at each other as they both try to figure out why the hell they're so annoyed with Meredith at the moment.

_It means nothing. Absolutely nothing, _Addison thinks. He's made it perfectly clear that he's not interested in her. So can someone please explain why he's staring at her like she's the only thing that matters?

_It means nothing. Absolutely nothing, _Alex thinks. It's not like she's possibly interested after the way he's treated her, and anyways, that train has completely left the station. He's completely over that thing they had before. Except, if he thinks about it for more than a second, it becomes painfully clear that this isn't the case. In fact, it's rather the exact opposite—he never got over her and he's getting pulled further and further into it too.

"Morning, Mer," Alex finally says after an incredibly awkward moment.

"Hi," she replies, an impish grin forming on her face. "Morning, Addison."

"Good morning."

"Sleep well?"

"Yeah, thanks," Addison replies. It's not a flat out lie, more of a half-lie really. When she actually slept, she slept well.

"Good, I'm glad."

"Thank you."

Another stagnant pause. Meredith finally breaks it. "I mean what I said last night, Addison. You really are welcome here any time."

Addison gives a weak smile and tries to push the guilt out of her head. "Thank you."

Meredith waves the gratitude away. "Not a problem."

"Good morning," Derek says cheerfully as he enters the kitchen.

"You're in a good mood," Addison comments.

"Yeah, I am," he replies evenly, almost daring her to ask.

"Do I even want to know?"

"Not really," he smiles. Meredith blushes and turns her head away.

"Thank you for that, Derek," Addison winces. "Really."

"Oh, yeah, like you didn't get any last night," he retorts.

"Your pancakes are getting cold, Addie," Alex points out. He hands her the plate and leads her to the table, his hand brushing casually against her stomach to rest on the small of her back. She shivers from the contact. "You cold?" he asks, concerned.

"No, I'm fine."

"Because I could—"

"I'm fine. Really," she says definitively, smiling to let him know the gesture is appreciated.

Breakfast passes quickly and pleasantly. Before long, Addison says her goodbyes. "I'll call you later to make plans," she tells Alex.

He kisses her and she tries not to swoon, even though the current that passes through her body could quite possibly power a small town for a week. "Be careful," he tells her.

"I _can _drive, you know," she retorts.

"I know," he smirks. She ignores him and gets into her car.

On the whole, the experience was a rather pleasant one, even if she ended up spending the night. It's nice to have mended things with Izzie, Meredith, and Derek. In fact, the more she thinks about it, the more she likes the idea of belonging to their little surrogate family. Except then she remembers that she only got to witness it because of false circumstances and begins to feel guilty. They don't deserve to be lied to. But Alex… She doesn't want to think about Alex right now, because that would mean owning up to the fact that he can turn her insides to jelly just by looking at her, and when she thinks about her future with her baby, he's the only one she sees with them.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it!**

**-Juli-**


	9. In Which Things Draw To A Close

**Sorry this took so long! I finished my last final and my brain was morally opposed to approaching a computer to do anything but play the sims 3. But I managed to push through it, wrote this, and I have a general idea of where I want to take this, which is good, considering I started out with absolutely NO idea where the story was headed. So thanks for bearing with me! I'm not a huge fan of this chapter, but I figured you would prefer I wasn't gone for a year, trying to perfect it.**

**disclaimer: Yes, in the time I was gone, I managed to make enough money to take over Shondaland. If only. I don't get paid that well.**

* * *

"This is going to be a little cold," Alex warns her. Addison rolls her eyes in response.

"Spare me the spiel; I give it three hundred times a day. I know it by heart," she retorts.

He shrugs and spreads the gel on her stomach. She gasps a little. "Okay, didn't think it was that cold," she admits.

"I told you."

"We should change the speech from a little cold to a little freezing," she pouts.

He laughs. "I don't think that's gonna go over so well."

"Maybe not, but at least it's honest," she replies, then quickly becomes serious. "Alex, I just… Thank you. For everything."

"Okay, I think that's the thousandth time you've said thank you. You can stop anytime now."

"Not really," she replies. "I don't think I can ever-"

"Addison," he cuts her off and nods towards the screen.

She stares in silence for a moment, then turns her head away from him, so he can't see the tears. Despite her efforts, he sees them anyways. "Are you okay?" he asks.

She shakes her head to clear her thoughts. "I just… You have no idea how badly I've wanted this."

"No, probably not," he agrees

Suddenly, she asks, "Have you ever wanted something so badly that you were blinded to just about everything else?"

He looks her in the eyes and answers, "Yes."

"Multiply that by a hundred."

"Why didn't you?" he asks. "Have kids, I mean."

She sighs. "Derek never wanted them. And even if he did, we were so focused on our careers. We never had time, and then Mark happened, and…" She hesitates.

"What?" he asks.

"I assume you already know this, but Mark and I… I was pregnant."

"I'd heard it, yeah," he admits. "I didn't know whether or not to believe it, though. You know how the nurses can be."

"They got it right," she admits. "I was pregnant and then… I wasn't." Alex stays silent. "I… I had an abortion. It's just… I wanted… I found out and Mark was so excited, but I realized that if I had the baby, Derek would never look at me again, let alone take me back. And maybe that was selfish of me, but… but he was my husband and I loved him. And the next day I found out that Mark was cheating on me, and that was the last straw. I couldn't look at Mark and I couldn't imagine a life without Derek, and it just seemed… it seemed like the only solution."

Alex stays silent for a really long time.

"Say something," she finally begs. "I understand if you hate me, but please just say something."

"I don't hate you," he says slowly. "It's just… it's hard to figure out, you know? I just need to think."

She nods. "I understand. Maybe… maybe it would be better if we just… if we just broke up now."

"No! I—" he exclaims, but then remembers himself. "Whatever you want to do, Addison."

"It's just—I hate that I'm taking up so much of your time, and I just… I don't think I can do it much longer."

"Do what?" he asks.

"Lie. I've been thinking about it and we're lying to everyone, and I just… I can hardly look at Izzie because she's so excited and all I can think about is that she thinks that I'm having your baby and I'm not."

"Whatever you want to do, Addison. It's your call."

"I mean, we can still be friends afterwards. We just have to make the break up look convincing."

"Do you want me to cheat on you?" he asks, half-joking.

"What? No! No, you've done all this for me, I'm not letting you ruin your reputation too. No, whatever happens, it's going to be my fault."

0ooo0

The plan is cemented, and they decide that they will break up for Tuesday. Until then, they devote their energies to making their relationship look like it's failing, but actually grow closer, laughing about the entire thing behind closed doors. The days fly by until it is Tuesday. Addison wakes up in a relatively good mood, except then she remembers what is supposed to happen today. She steels herself and gets up.

Alex and Addison spend all day bickering until finally, as decided, Addison explodes in the hallway. "Get out of my sight!" she yells. "Just leave!"

"What the hell is your problem today?" Alex asks.

"Nothing. I'm fine!" she snaps.

"You're not acting like it," he replies.

She closes her eyes and lowers her voice. Everyone eavesdropping instantly become much quieter. "I just… I can't do this, Alex."

"What? What can't you do, Addison?"

"I can't—I can't pretend we're something we're not. I thought I could, I thought maybe if… maybe if I spent more time with you, maybe I could pretend that… I don't know!"

"Addison, you started your sentence. Finish it," he commands, his voice dangerously low.

Addison studies the floor. When she looks up there are tears in her eyes, but not because she can cry on cue. She didn't expect saying these words to him would actually hurt. "Maybe I could pretend that you meant something to me. But I can't."

"What are you saying, Addison?"

She has to pause for an agonizing moment as she pushes back real sobs. "I don't—I don't want you. I don't want you and I don't want you in the baby's life either." And with that she flees the scene. Everyone but Alex slowly returns to their previous activities, now buzzing about the break up. Alex just stands in the middle of the hallway and tries to wrap his head around the fact that everything is over.

* * *

**So there you have it- the end. No, just kidding. Really, it's only the beginning. Okay, not really, more of a middle-ish sort of thing, but you get the picture.**

**-Juli-**


	10. In Which Addison Tells The Truth

**Another day, another chapter. Sorry this took awhile, I was having difficulty with the beginning, so I decided ot take a short cut and write a really short one. But it's all done now, and you can read it! I think you'll kind of like the middle. The end, maybe not so much, but we'll see.**

**And I still own nothing.**

* * *

"I don't want to talk about it, Iz," Alex announces the second Izzie sits next to him. He's sitting in the tunnels, trying to remember that Addison's words weren't true.

"How can she do that?!" Izzie exclaims. "How can she just up and decide that she doesn't want you?!"

He sighs. "I'm sure she has her reasons."

"Yeah, right. Don't you care at all, Alex? She doesn't want you to see your child! You can't be okay with that!"

"Izzie, it's complicated."

"That's it, I'm going to talk to her."

"Don't."

"I'm doing it, Alex. You're not stopping me. If you're not going to fight for your kid, I am. You're not going to know what being separated feels like. I'm not going to let you."

"Izzie," he starts, but she's already storming off in search of his "girlfriend".

0ooo0

Addison is walking down the hallway, finally recovered from the sobs that were an unforeseen consequence, when she is suddenly pulled into a supply closet. She looks up to see Izzie, looking as if she's about ready to explode. "What are you thinking? Izzie asks.

Addison refuses to make eye contact.

"How could… what would make you… why'd you do it?" Izzie stutters. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that she's talking about the break up.

Keeping her eyes on the floor, Addison mumbles, "I couldn't keep lying."

"How could… why… I can't look at you right now, Addison," Izzie admits.

Addison feels tears pool in her eyes again. "I'm sorry," she whispers.

"I know I shouldn't be this mad. I know I'm overreacting, but he was happy. For the first time since I met him, he was really happy. And you just took it all away. How do you do something like that?"

Addison bows her head and just allows the verbal assault to continue.

"I mean, I get if you want to break up with him. Fine. But to—to ban him from seeing his kid, that's just—That just makes me think you're every bit the heartless bitch we used to think you were."

A single tear escapes Addison's already swollen eyes and she bites her lip to keep any others from doing the same. "Izzie," she says quietly. "If I tell you something, would just hear me out?"

Izzie sighs. "And why would I do that?"

"I think… I think you'll understand everything a lot better if you do. You can hate me afterwards, but will you please just listen?"

Izzie crosses her arms. "Okay, fine."

"Promise me you'll hear me out. _All _the way out."

"Fine, I promise."

Addison takes a deep breath, and, taking care to look anywhere but at Izzie, announces, "The baby isn't Alex's."

"What?!" Izzie shrieks. "You backstabbing, little—"

"You promised you would hear me out," Addison yells over her. Izzie purses her lips, but quiets down. "Alex knows. He always has known it's not his."

"Wait, what?"

"There was never any chance that the baby was his. Ever. I guess I was just freaking out that I was pregnant, and he offered to… help out."

"By pretending it's his kid? Why would he do that?"

"I don't really know."

"Wait, who's the father?"

The floor suddenly becomes very interesting to Addison. "I- I don't know," she admits. "That's why he offered to help."

"So he pretends it's his kid, and…?" Izzie trails off, trying to piece everything together.

"He pretends to be the father, we fake that we're dating for awhile, then a big break up allows him to get out of it all. It was his idea, but I said yes."

"Wow."

"Yeah," Addison sighs.

"Wow," Izzie repeats. "Just wow."

"I wasn't going to tell anyone, but I just felt so bad lying to everyone. Thank you for letting me tell the truth for once. You can hate me now."

"I don't hate you, Addison," Izzie says. "I'm just trying to wrap my head around the fact that he loves you that much."

"What?!" Addison nearly screams. "No! No, he doesn't… he doesn't love me. Not like that."

Izzie raises an eyebrow. "Let's review," she suggests. "You get pregnant (I'm not going to ask about the real father, by the way), freak out, he comes up with the idea to pretend it's his, and risks his career for you. Yeah, you're right, he absolutely hates you."

"No, we're just friends, Izzie," Addison insists. "He's not in love with me. He barely likes me at all. And I'm not in love with him." She pauses for a second before asking, "Am I?"

"I don't know," Izzie shrugs, "That's not really something I would know the answer to. But I think you do."

Addison closes her eyes and sighs. "Crap. How did this happen? I can't be in love with him. I just can't be."

"I don't think you really get a choice," Izzie says sympathetically.

"Oh my God," Addison groans, covering her eyes and sliding down the wall to the floor. "I'm in love with him. Crap. What am I going to do?"

"Tell him?" Izzie suggests.

"No, I can't do that," Addison replies quickly. "I just… I have to wait it out."

Izzie shakes her head. "Whatever, Addison. I have to go now, but thanks. For telling me, I mean. And don't worry, I won't tell anybody."

Addison waves her off, too preoccupied with her revelation to really take notice.

0ooo0

She finds him a couple of hours later, having resolved not to do anything. "Hey," she says quietly after looking around to make sure they're alone. "How are you?"

He doesn't look at her. "Fine."

"That's good," she says.

"Yeah," he replies.

"So, do you… do you want to go grab something to eat?" she suggests.

"We're broken up, Addison. We probably shouldn't do things together."

"Oh. Right."

"I have paperwork," he informs her and then walks off, leaving her with the distinct feeling that she was just given the cold shoulder.

She shakes if off, and goes to get on the elevator. Clearly, it's time to go home. The elevator is crowded, but she squeezes on, pressing up against someone. She thinks nothing of it until she hears him chuckle. She looks up and finds herself looking directly into the eyes of none other than…

"Pete," she groans.

* * *

**And you thought I wasn't going to include Pete in all the fun. Actually, as far as I know, nobody thought that, but I thought about it anyways. Hope you enjoyed it, and I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, but you know me and updating... I wouldn't count on anything.**

**-Juli-**


	11. In Which Callie is Her Usual Self

**You should thank a really slow day at work for this one. There was literally NO ONE at the pool yesterday, so I got paid to sit and write this story. I actually split this chapter into two parts- This is about the first two thirds of what I wrote, and I'll post the next chapter sometime tomorrow hopefully. So enjoy!**

**Still don't own anything.**

* * *

"Addison," he replies, giving her his signature Pete grin.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she whispers, trying to keep the conversation between them, but she knows the entire elevator is listening.

"You were always blabbering on and on about Seattle Grace elevators, so I thought I might see just what was so sexy about them."

Addison scrunches up her face in embarrassment. "Not here," she grits through her teeth, nodding at the other occupants.

"When then?" he asks. "Because you and I both know that the second you step off this elevator you're going to go sprinting off and I'm not going to be able to catch up."

Addison sighs. "I won't."

Pete nods, and stays quiet for the rest of the ride. When they step off the elevator, Addison leads them to a quiet, but very visible, corner. "What?" she asks.

"You left all of a sudden, and without explanation. Naomi's not happy; Violet's about to set fire to your house, and Sam is practically beside himself with worry. I got enlisted to come see that you're okay."

"I'm fine. See?" She smiles. "So you can go back to LA now."

"Don't we all wish it were that simple?" he asks rhetorically. "Sorry, it's more complicated than that. We slept together, you left. Am I the only one seeing a connection?"

Addison sighs. "Pete that was a mistake and you know it. It was just a release that we both needed, but it shouldn't have happened."

"How do you know that, Addison? You never even gave me a chance."

"I gave you a chance, Pete. You stood me up, remember?"

"That was before."

"Before what? Before you realized just how good I am in bed?" she hisses the last part out, trying to keep the discussion private.

"Okay, first off, I'm not going to contradict that you're good in bed, but don't flatter yourself. It makes you come off vain, not very sexy. Secondly, it was before I realized how much I like you."

"Please don't do this," she whispers.

"Do what, Addison? Admit to the fact that I like you? Because I already have."

"I can't do this," she tells him. "I just got out of a relationship, literally two hours ago, and now I don't even know if it was the right thing to do, so I can't have this discussion with you right now."

"We're going to have to have it some time, Addison. You can't run forever."

"I'm pregnant, Pete, in case you hadn't noticed. I just broke up with the father, and am only now figuring out that I might be in love with him, so I'm pretty sure we're never going to have this conversation," she snaps.

He looks shocked. "Wow, Addison."

She shakes her head and laughs scornfully. "It's just like me, right?"

"You do seem to have a special talent for making a mess of things," he agrees. "And I'm sorry it's happening to you. I guess me being here would probably just screw things up more for you, huh?"

"It's probably not the most helpful of things," Addison concedes.

"So I'll tell everybody that you're happier here and tell Violet to put the matches away."

"Thank you for not fighting me on this," Addison says.

"One condition," he replies.

"Sure," she agrees.

"I get to meet the kid."

"Deal," Addison says quickly.

"I guess I'll just go then," he says awkwardly.

"Thanks, Pete. I mean it."

"You're just lucky you got me on a good day," he jokes. "I hope everything goes okay with your… guy."

Before she can answer, he strides away.

0ooo0

"Callie, can I talk to you?" Addison asks nervously a little later.

"Sure. How are you? I heard about the whole Alex thing. You really broke up with him?"

Addison nods. "I can't figure out if it was the right thing or not. But I need to tell you something. In private?"

They head to an empty on-call room. Addison takes a deep breath. "You're going to hate me for this, but I didn't want to not tell you, and you have to understand, I've been dying to tell you ever since the whole thing started, but I couldn't, and—"

"Addison, just tell me," Callie cuts her off.

"The baby isn't Alex's," she admits, then rushes on before Callie can say anything. "He knows that. There never was any chance it was his. It's either Mark's or Pete's, and I don't know which. So when I found out, I freaked out and he offered to help out. We never slept together after that one time before I moved to LA, we were never a couple, and he was never in love with me."

"W-what?" Callie stammers.

"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you, but I didn't know how."

"Oh my God."

"I know. I get if you're angry."

"I feel lied to," Callie admits.

"I know," Addison says quietly. "And I am so, so sorry."

"Sorry doesn't automatically make things better, Addison!"

"I know, but I don't know what else to say."

"How about an explanation of why this ever seemed like a good idea?"

"I just… I couldn't deal with the hospital and Mark and Pete all staring at me and thinking about what a whore I am again. I went through it once, and I didn't want to go through it again."

"And you really have no idea whose it is?"

Addison shakes her head.

"But Alex stepped up and volunteered to pretend to be the father?"

Addison nods.

"And you let him?"

"Yeah and now I'm totally screwed."

"What?" Callie asks.

"Remember when you asked if I was in love with him?"

"Yeah…"

Addison sighs. "You were right."

"What?!"

"I know. I just… I don't… I see him and my heartbeat gets faster, and I never want him to leave my sight."

"Oh my God, you are in love, aren't you? What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Addison admits and shakes her head. "I can't tell him."

"Why not?"

"What if he doesn't feel the same way? What if he just… laughs or something?"

"What if you get hit by bus on the way to work? What if you get struck by lightening? You can't live your life hiding from what ifs. You have to take a chance, or nothing's going to ever happen, and you're going to lead a sad, pathetic life. Plus, he's pretending to be the father of your child. The only way he's not feeling the exact same way is if he loves you more than you love him."

"You think?" Addison asks quietly.

"I know," Callie answers. "Now I would suggest going and talking to him before you lose your nerve."

Addison smiles. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

"Nothing. You don't deserve me," Callie smirks. "But I'm here anyways. Now go."

0ooo0

Addison tracks Alex down quickly, finding him checking charts in the NICU. "Hey," she smiles.

He looks up. "Hey."

There is a long pause, which Addison finally breaks by announcing, "Pete was here."

"What?" he asks sharply.

"He was here and ridiculously reasonable. He actually listened to me. It was nice."

"That's great, Addison," he says distractedly. "I—I have to go."

He leaves before she can say anything.

0ooo0

She finds him again an hour later. "Are you okay?" she asks.

"Yeah, fine."

"You sure? Because you kind of ran off."

He shakes his head. "Now's not a good time, Addison."

"Alex," she starts but he cuts her off with a "Not now," and leaves.

She frowns. What the hell is his problem?

* * *

**Couple of things... Firstly, don't worry, Pete isn't gone for good, and I doubt he'll be so reasonable the next time he makes an appearance. Secondly, I have a feeling you'll like the next chapter.**

**Next up: Once again, Addison needs to know Alex is sure about one of his ideas.**

**-Juli-**


	12. In Which Things Get Straightened Out

**Hello? Anybody out there? Sorry, I'm just being bitchy. Ignore me. Anyways, here's the last third of the last chapter. I'm thinking your going to like this one...**

**I know we all wish Grey's was mine (or at least ours collectively), but it's not.**

* * *

Addison finds Alex one more time before she's off work, but now she's starting to get angry. "Okay, what the hell is your problem?" she snaps as she shoves him into the nearest empty room.

"Me? Nothing," he replies easily.

"That's complete crap. You've been avoiding me all day, and when you do have to talk to me, you don't say more than five words. What did I do to piss you off?"

"Nothing," he replies tensely. She notices that he's looking past her, not at her.

"Alex, why won't you look at me?" she asks quietly. She can feel a lump in her throat begin to grow, a sure sign that she's about to cry.

"It's nothing," he says, looking at the same spot on the wall.

"Then look at me," she demands. When he doesn't listen, she repeats, "Look at me."

"Damn it, Addison!" he explodes. "I can't look at you, because every time I do—" He stops abruptly.

"What, Alex?" she asks. "Every time you look at me what?"

He gets really quiet and refuses to meet her eyes. "I get jealous," he admits.

Addison feels her heart leap in her chest, but she stays calm outwardly. "Jealous?"

"You're having Sloan or that Pete guy's baby. I look at you and I get jealous."

"What?" Addison asks, trying to convince herself that this is actually happening.

"I just—I keep thinking that if you were having my kid, I'd never screw it up so badly you needed some guy to pretend to be the father. I'd never hurt you that badly."

"Alex, I don't… I can't… Can you please just come straight out and say whatever it is you mean? Don't make me guess. I'm a terrible guesser."

"I can't look at you without wishing the baby was mine, Addison," he snaps. "There, you happy? I can't stay around you, or I trick myself into thinking that maybe you wish the same thing, okay?"

Addison opens her mouth to speak but nothing comes out. It gets to the point that he's almost ready to leave when her hand shoots out and slaps him. "Ow!' he exclaims. "What the hell?"

"You jerk!" she exclaims. "I have been hunting you down for the past six hours, trying to get you to listen to something really important, which you would know if you had bothered to stick around for longer than five seconds!"

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm in love with you, you idiot!' she exclaims.

"W-what?" he stammers.

"I'm completely head-over-heels in love with you," she says. "I don't know how, I don't when, and I sure as hell don't know why. I just know that I can't… I just… There aren't words for this."

"Are you—are you serious?"

She takes a step closer to him. "I love you, Alex Karev," she says quietly. "And it's the stupidest thing I've ever done. But I wouldn't change it for anything."

He's quiet, and she bites her lip nervously, until he reaches out to touch her face. She closes her eyes and leans into his touch. He kisses her, and she smiles, thinking about how much better it is when it's not a show.

When they break apart, she laughs a little bitterly. "What?" he asks.

"This is just perfect," she laughs. "I'm in love with you, you're in lo—" She stops abruptly. "Are you?"

"Am I what?" The smirk on his face tells her he's being difficult, not stupid.

"In love with me," she states.

"Addison, I've been in love with you for the past year and a half. You really hadn't figured that out?

"No."

"What were you saying?"

"I'm in love with you, you're in love with me, but I'm having someone else's baby. How can you be okay with that?"

He laughs. "Because I love you, and that's enough for me. Besides, there's plenty of time for us."

Addison looks down at the floor. "No, Alex," she says sadly. "There really isn't."

"What?"

"I'm not supposed to be able to have kids. At all. This baby is a miracle in and of itself. I doubt that I'll be able to have another one."

He's quiet for a second. "You said it's a miracle, right? So we hope for another one," he shrugs. "Besides, there are always options. And in the meantime, we deal with raising this one."

"Did you just offer to help me raise my baby?" Addison asks, shocked.

He shrugs. "Kids love me. I'm practically a rock star in the NICU."

She laughs, but quickly becomes serious again. "This isn't … This isn't days or weeks, Alex. This is years. Eighteen, to be exact. You can't possibly be okay with that. No, you should… you should be having your own kids, and—"

He cuts her off with a kiss. "I would rather raise one mini-Sloan with you, than ten of my own kids with someone else, Addison," he tells her. "This isn't about kids; this is about me loving you, and you loving me, and that being enough."

"You're really okay with this? I mean, one hundred and ten percent here, Karev."

He smirks. "This is sounding familiar." And then he kisses her, and that gives her his answer.

* * *

**A little cheesy, but a little cheese never hurt anybody. ;)**

**I'm fairly certain that you reviewing is an inevitability (is that even a word? Well, it is now).**

**-Juli-**


	13. In Which There Is Calm

**So, here, have another chapter- It's more filler than anything, since my muse has apparently decided that now would be a fabulous time to come up with new and exciting storylines that have absolutely NOTHING to do with my current stories.**

**In other news, special credit to BabyWonder7 for making smile and getting referenced in this chapter. For some reason, I just really, really liked the image of Addison and Alex standing in the middle of the hallway, yelling, "JUST KIDDING!!". It made me giggle, so I mentioned it in passing in here somewhere. If you giggle too, I can't take credit for it. Sorry to disappoint.**

**And if you don't know that I don't own Grey's by now, I don't know what I'm going to do with you.**

* * *

Addison and Alex stay in the room—which turned out to be an on call room, by the way—not ready to break out of their peaceful bubble and start to put their, if not new, newly cemented relationship to the test yet.

She smiles when he laces his fingers through hers, shaking her head slowly in disbelief. This doesn't go unnoticed by Alex, who asks, "What?"

"This. Us," she replies, then elaborates, "I'm never completely sure about anything, I over think things and I worry. But this… it just feels right."

Alex is silent for a moment before chuckling. "Wow, that was maybe the sappiest thing I've ever heard."

"Oh, shut up," she laughs, smacking his chest playfully, simultaneously aiming to hurt and appreciate the body of her ridiculously hot boyfriend. Quickly, though, she becomes serious. "So how do you think we should tell everyone?" she asks quietly.

"Well, they already think that we just broke up. Maybe we could just stand in the middle of the hallway and yell just kidding," he suggests.

She giggles at the image. "Yeah, because that wouldn't look ridiculous or anything," she scoffs.

"So?"

"Maybe…" Addison hesitates.

"What?"

"Maybe, we just keep it to ourselves for awhile." She sees the confused look on his face and hastens to explain. "I don't mean keep it a secret or anything. Believe me; I want the whole world to know I'm in love with you. But it's just… everything up until now has been for everyone else. Does that make sense? It's all been so public. I need time for it to sink in that this isn't. For the first time, this isn't about them, it's about us. I just need to feel like it's real this time."

"Addison, everything I said to you before, in front of everybody, I wasn't lying."

"I know that, Alex, I do. But that's part of the problem—I _know _it, but I haven't really comprehended it."

"It's your call, Addie. I don't care. I'll do whatever makes you happy."

Addison rolls her eyes. "So no pressure or anything."

He laughs. "Nope, none at all."

"Maybe… maybe we don't keep it a secret, we just don't tell people unless they ask directly. Besides, in this place, telling one person is basically the equivalent of announcing it over the intercom."

He chuckles. "True. So what do we say?"

"Say?" she frowns.

"If someone asks," he prompts.

"Oh." Addison becomes quiet, trying to figure out what to do, as she realizes that they have an opportunity to tell everyone the truth.

"Do you want to tell everybody everything?" he asks gently, correctly guessing the source of her silence. "Or do you want to keep with the story?"

Addison hesitates as she mulls things over—on one hand, it would be nice to tell the absolute truth. On the other, she's not really too keen on finding out Mark's reaction, particularly what he might do to Alex. "You know," she starts slowly, "For all intents and purposes, you're going to be the father…" she trails off, not sure if the sentence needs an ending.

He grins and kisses her. She smiles against his lips. "What was that for?" she asks happily.

He shrugs. "Because I can."

She smiles blissfully. And then her mind returns to the task at hand, and she bits her lip, trying to come up with a plausible explanation. "We can just say that I was being hormonal and everything is fine," she suggests.

"Not to burst your bubble or whatever, Adds, but you kind of yelled that you don't love me—that's going to need more explaining than hormonal."

"I don't know, Alex, maybe you could stop playing devil's advocate long enough to actually help me!" she snaps, then sighs, rubbing her temples. "Sorry. I didn't mean that. I just thought that breaking up would simplify things, and now it's making everything worse."

"You got scared," he announces. "You got scared, and you said awful things that you in no way meant, and will _never _say again." The last part is said sternly, and Addison smiles.

"See, I knew there was a reason I keep you around!" she exclaims.

"Please, you love me."

"Well, there's that," Addison smirks, "And there's the fact that you're man candy."

"Is that so?" he asks, and kisses her. She deepens the kiss, and just when they're starting to consider relocating to the nearby bed, her pager goes off. She groans and looks at it. "It's the Patterson baby," she informs him. "Sorry, I'll talk to you soon."

She kisses him once quickly and then leaves, not worrying about when soon is. It doesn't matter anymore—they've got all the time in the world.

0ooo0

It's a struggle for Addison to keep a smile off her face for what is left of the day, which doesn't go unnoticed by most. People start talking about what could possibly have the redheaded attending smiling just hours after a loud break up.

Derek tracks her down just as she's on her way to the locker room. "Wow, dumping Karev really put you in that a good a mood, huh?" he says, sounding more concerned than entertained, but valiantly trying to make it sound like he's teasing her.

"No," she answers. "But I'm fine, Derek."

He frowns. "You sure you're okay? Nothing you need to talk about?"

"Hey, Derek?" she asks, knowing that she's just about to break the rule that she set, but she figures that she doesn't really care—Alex won't mind, and the fact that she's in love with someone who loves her back is starting to sink in.

"Yeah?"

"Alex and I aren't broken up." She flashes him a brilliant smile and pushes the door to the locker room open. He doesn't follow, just stares after her and tries to make sense of her announcement.

0ooo0

By the time Addison's ready to go home, she's exhausted. Fighting back weariness, she gets ready to exit the hospital. Longest day ever.

"Hey," Mark says as he approaches her. "How are you?"

She sighs. Apparently the longest day ever is about to get even longer. "I'm fine," she replies.

"I heard about you and Karev," he says.

She doesn't even look at him. She keeps her eyes straight ahead, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, while she informs him, "I'm not sleeping with you, Mark."

"Ouch, Addison, I'm hurt. It's sad that you think so little of me," he pouts.

Addison rolls her eyes. "Well, it would help if you could give me a little more to work with. And clearly you're not fully up to date on the gossip today, because otherwise you wouldn't be hitting on me right now."

"What?"

"Alex and I are back together." She hides a smile as she says this. "And I really wouldn't suggest messing with it. He could probably kick your ass. He used to wrestle, you know. Just saying…"

Mark's mouth falls open. "Addie, I-"

She cuts him off as they reach her car. "Mark, seriously. Go to Joe's, have a drink or two, and leave with a pretty, young thing whose name you won't remember in the morning. Now, if you'll excuse me…" She trails off as she gets into the car, and drives off, leaving him behind. She sees him head in the direction of Joe's in the rearview mirror and shakes her head. Typical Mark.

* * *

**Wow, seriously, longest day ever. I think that day spanned four chapters. Time for Addison to get some much deserved rest. I mean, let's recap. In the course of one day she: broke up with her fake boyfriend, explained to Izzie, realized she was in love with her ex-fake boyfriend, explained to Callie, had to hunt down her ex-fake boyfriend, and made her ex-fake boyfriend her current real boyfriend. She deserved a filler chapter...**

**But even though it's a pretty filler chapter, that's not to say that you didn't need to pay attention. Because one chance event often leads to another, and can have some pretty dire consequences. I'm just saying...**

**But enough of me being cryptic. Here's a not so cryptic message: Drop me a review, will ya? ;)**

**-Juli-**


	14. In Which The Storm Arrives

**Another chapter! And quickly, too. I've got to hand it to myself, I'm impressed. Of course, I had the first little bit written, because I was contemplating putting it at the end of the last chapter, but I thought that might get me an angry mob on my doorstep (which you will understand in a minute). So here, enjoy!**

**-Obligatory disclaimer-**

* * *

As Addison drives home, the exhaustion hits her harder than it ever has before. She rolls down her window, hoping the cold air will help wake her up. She pulls up to a stoplight and feels her eyelids start to droop. She shakes her head. "Okay, Addison," she says to herself. "Just make it home and then you can sleep."

The light turns green and she pulls into the intersection. As she does, she sees a flash of light out of the corner of her eye and turns her head, just in time to feel the other car slam into hers.

She can feel herself losing consciousness. The last thing she is aware of before succumbing is that she knows, just knows in some dark, unknown place, that her baby isn't alive.

0ooo0

Addison sits up in bed, heart slamming in her chest. "Just a dream," she whispers, breathing heavily. She wraps her arms protectively around her stomach, and suddenly becomes aware of the thin film of sweat that covers her body.

She closes her eyes to try to bring her heart rate down to normal and slow her breathing, but every time she comes close to succeeding, she remembers that terrifying flash of knowledge at the end of her dream, and then her heart rate skyrockets and she starts to panic all over again.

Before she thinks about what she's doing, she dials Alex's number.

"Addison?" he asks groggily, picking up after the fourth ring.

"Hey," she says shakily. "Sorry to wake you up."

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" The two questions come out in a rush, betraying how worried he is, which then makes Addison feel badly.

"I-I don't know," she stammers. "It's stupid."

"What's wrong?" he repeats in a tone that lets her know that he's going to get an answer out of her.

Addison starts to feel guilty that she woke him up because of a bad dream. She's an adult, surely she can deal with a nightmare on her own. "Nothing. I had a bad dream. Never mind. Go back to sleep."

"It doesn't sound like nothing," he says. "You sound scared."

She swallows. "N-no. It's fine. Go back to sleep."

"I'm coming over," he informs her.

"No!" she practically yells. It's not that she doesn't want him there, but the terror of her all-too-lifelike nightmare is still fresh in her mind, and she doesn't want him driving. What if it was a sign?

"Addison, this is one of those things where it's not your choice," he replies easily.

She sighs. "Be careful," she says forcefully.

"Don't worry. I'll be there in ten, okay?"

"Fine." She resigns herself to the fact that she's in love with someone who is probably more stubborn than her.

But now she's nervous about him driving. What if something happens to him? She doesn't think she'd be able to breathe, let alone actually survive, if he were to… well, you know. She doesn't want to think the word.

Five minutes creep by. Addison gets up to walk around, hoping time will pass more quickly, but she keeps sabotaging that effort by sneaking peeks at the clock.

Ten minutes. Okay, he's supposed to be here.

Thirteen minutes. He's always on time, right on time. Three minutes late is actually a big deal with him. A lot can happen in three minutes.

Fifteen minutes. Addison can feel herself starting to panic and tries to calm herself down.

Seventeen minutes. The beams of headlights finally shine through her window. She yanks the door open just as he's about to knock, and practically knocks him down with the force of her hug. "Hi," he laughs.

"Oh, thank God," she murmurs, after assuring herself that he's actually in one piece.

"Hey, are you okay?" It's dark, and she can't see his face very well, but the concern is evident in his voice. She smiles, and leads him to her living room, where they sit on the couch.

"I'm fine now," she replies, burying her head in his shoulder.

"You want to talk about it?" he asks, kissing the top of her head.

She looks up at him. This room is lighted better than the entrance and for the first time, she notices that he's got a split lip and an eye that is just beginning to swell. She frowns. "What happened to your face?"

"It's nothing," he dismisses the question. "Are you okay?"

"Alex, what happened to your face?" she repeats sternly.

"I…" he starts, but shakes his head.

"Alex Karev," Addison says angrily. "You have been taking care of me for the past three months, now it's my turn. What the hell happened?"

He's quiet for a long time, and Addison sits in silence, waiting for his answer. Finally, he does. "I was at Joe's. Mark was there, drunk off his ass. He said some things he had no right saying, so I told him to shut up. He took a swing I wasn't expecting, so I hit back."

"Oh, Alex," Addison sighs. "Why would you do something like that?"

He shrugs. "You didn't hear what he was saying about you."

"About me?" Addison asks. "Did you honestly get into a fight to protect my honor?"

He just shrugs.

She laughs. "That's sweet. Completely idiotic, of course, but sweet. Don't do it again." Alex opens his mouth to protest, but Addison cuts him off. "I'm serious, Alex. Don't do it. I have enough to worry about without having to worry about you getting yourself killed because someone says something about me."

"Addie-"

"No, you listen to me. I'm used to being talked about behind my back. I was McDreamy's secret wife, remember? And then everybody found out I cheated on him. There were so many rumors about me, I actually started considering starting some of my own, just to see how fast they'd spread and how wildly out of proportion they'd get. Don't worry, I'm a big girl, I can handle it. And in any case, I don't think my honor can get be any worse off than it already is. So stop it."

He averts his eyes and Addison sighs. Sometimes she forgets that he can act like such a child, sulking at the slightest scolding. She runs her finger lightly against the skin around his eye, which is starting to change colors. "Don't think I don't appreciate it. I do. I just worry about you. Please don't get like this," she pleads.

"You said something about a bad dream?" he asks, side-stepping the conversation, but also complying with her request.

She shakes her head. "I'm sorry about that. It just seemed so real, and I wasn't thinking clearly. I'm fine now."

"Addie, I told you. Now you tell me."

She sighs. "It seems stupid now." He waits expectantly. She snuggles closer to him, drinking in the way that just being in proximity of him makes her feel safe, and warm, and, above all, loved. "I…" she hesitates. "I was driving home from work and I was completely exhausted. I got stopped a light. It turned green and I went, but there was this flash of light and a car hit mine. My head hit something, and I started to go unconscious, but I knew… I just knew that—that." Addison falters and Alex pulls her close. "I knew the baby was dead," she whispers. Silently, she wipes a tear from her eye, but that doesn't stop more from falling.

He looks at her. "It's okay," he says as he wipes away the other tears.

"I'm sorry," she sniffs. "It just seemed so real."

"Don't be sorry," he says and kisses her. It starts out sweet, but doesn't stay that way for very long, and this time there are no distractions.

They stop long enough for Alex to ask, "Bedroom?"

Addison waves her hand vaguely above her head as she kisses him again. He laughs. "Gonna need a little more direction than that."

She pulls away long enough to glare at him and say, "First door on the right. Happy?"

He nods, and grins sheepishly. "Good. Now shut up," she orders, pulling his lips to hers again. It's an order that Alex has no problem following.

0ooo0

Addison wakes up to the face of Alex Karev, which is something she most definitely could get used to. "Hi," she smiles.

"Hi," he replies.

"Morning."

Instead of answering, he kisses her. "Mm, I wish I didn't have to work today," she says as she glances at the clock. "Crap! Look at the time!"

"Funny, that clock seems to say that it's not time for work yet," he replies, pulling her back towards him.

"No, but it's screaming that it's time to get ready," she retorts. "I need to shower."

"I'll join you," he says easily.

"No," she replies firmly. "Because if you get in, then it'll be at the very least a half an hour shower and I need it to be a two minute shower. So no, you can not." She climbs out of bed, feeling his eyes watching her, and adoring every second of it. She turns back right before she heads into her bathroom. "By the way, your eye looks terrible. Didn't you ice it last night?"

"Uh, I was a little busy, seeing as you called in hysterics."

"First of all, I was _not _in hysterics. Second of all, thank you for doing that for me. There's an ice pack in the freezer, and the kitchen isn't hard to find, so go ice your eye while I get ready. There's a spare bathroom at the end of the hall and towels in the closet next to it, if you want to shower." She turns to enter the bathroom, but then turns back again. "Hey, Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you." She closes the bathroom door before he replies, but she leaves him with a distinct smile on his face.

0ooo0

Midmorning, Addison gets a page to report to the Chief's office as soon as possible. She's not aware of it at the time, but Alex and Mark get identical pages.

"Sit down," Richard says, once all three are assembled. They hasten to obey, because something in his voice screams not to toy with him right now. "I've heard disturbing rumors over the past few hours. Break ups in the hallway, residents punching attendings. It needs to be stopped, and I'm stopping it. As of today, Dr. Karev, you will be working with Dr. Sloan, until I say so."

"Richard, is this really nec-" Addison tries to intervene, but the Chief cuts her off with a glare.

"Considering that, by all accounts, you are the one they were fighting over, Addison, I don't think that you're in a position to talk here. Now, I want this drama, and all future drama to stay out of this hospital. I don't want to see it, and I don't want to hear about it. This hospital is now a drama-free zone, and you will all adhere to this rule. Is that understood?"

All three understand that this is more of a rhetorical question than anything, and don't answer. "You can go," Richard dismisses them. "Dr. Karev, you will be working with Dr. Sloan starting now."

Addison lingers behind. "Richard, I just wanted to say… I wanted to let you know, the break up you heard about… that is, Alex and I aren't broken up. I said some things yesterday that I shouldn't have said, because they weren't true."

"Drama-free zone, Addison," Richard replies, holding up his hands. "But thank you for letting me know."

"And last night… he was just trying to protect me, because… well, he loves me. And I'm not saying that it's right or wrong, but I do think that it should count for something."

She doesn't wait for a reply. She exits the office to find Alex waiting for her. "See!" she exclaims. "This is why you don't go around punching people!"

"Addison, I-" he starts, but he's interrupted.

"Karev!" Mark bellows. "Do I need to mail you an invitation?"

Alex glares at the older man. He doesn't answer, choosing instead to kiss Addison. "I love you," he whispers.

"And you just made it ten times worse for yourself," she replies. "But I love you too. Don't piss him off too badly, if you can help it."

And with those words, Alex turns around and walks straight into his own personal circle of hell.

* * *

**See why I thought that if I put that very first bit at the end of last chapter, you would all form an angry mob and show up on my doorstep? This way seemed safer. Besides, this way, I got to be cryptic at the end of the chapter, which was actually pretty fun, and I kind of wish I could do more often.**

**Anyways, reviews have officially replaced ambrosia as the food of the gods. Just saying...**

**-Juli-**


	15. In Which Addison Asks A Favor

**Okay, so this one goes out to Ocean of Ashes. Hopefully this puts your mind at ease. It's kind of short, but it's functional.**

**(Disclaimer)**

* * *

Alex isn't happy. He tries to keep reminding himself that he's the one with Addison, so it really shouldn't matter that her ex-lover has kept him busy updating charts all day. But he hasn't so much as looked at a patient all day and for all his reminders, he's still getting pissed.

Sloan approaches him from behind, sitting down beside him. Alex refuses to meet his eyes. Just because they're being forced to work with each other doesn't mean he has to talk to him. But wait a second. Is Sloan actually… _helping_? What the hell is going on?

"So, you and Addison," Sloan says after an excruciatingly tense silence. Alex doesn't answer, refusing to even look up. "That's brave of you."

That gets Alex to look up, if only for a second. "I'm going to say this, because you can't punch me here," Mark sneers. "I wouldn't do it, if I were you. I mean, she gets bored so easily, I'd be afraid to lose her. No surprise she got bored of me, but Derek… I mean, they were married. No, I don't care if the sex is great or if you think you're the next Romeo and Juliet. Addison gets bored. She'll always want something better than what she has, and nobody can ever totally be that better thing."

Alex tenses up, repeating to himself that Sloan's just trying to get under his skin, but he can't help noting the small bit of truth in his words. Addison always does want something better for herself—it's one of the things he loves about her. But he hadn't thought about it as it applied to him.

Mark smiles, knowing that he's caught Alex's attention. "I admire that you think you'll be able to make it work. But I guess you have the kid to think about. Not that that's stopped her before. But maybe it's different with you." Mark studies the other man's face, trying to determine just how much doubt he's been able to instill. Even though Alex does a great job of hiding it behind a mask of impassivity, he can see that he's starting to get nervous in spite of himself.

Alex gets up, trying not to reveal how badly he wants to punch the older man. "Since you're up," Mark smirks. "I need another coffee. Bone dry cappuccino. You remember, right?"

Alex doesn't reply, choosing to walk away instead.

0ooo0

"Okay, Miss Meyers, what can I do for you today?" Addison asks cheerfully as she enters the room.

She looks over her patient. Chloe Meyers is twenty-five years old, and seven months pregnant. She should be full of life, but all Addison can see are the dark circles under her eyes, betraying sleepless nights.

"Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I had this dream," Chloe says. "No, it's a nightmare, really." Addison freezes, the memory of her own nightmare filling her mind, and she struggles to listen to her patient. "I'm walking towards this crib and I stand over it to see my baby, but there's just…" She trails off, trying to fight back tears that are clearly getting the best of her. "There's just… blood. Blood everywhere. Please, I know that I'm being silly, but… I just need to know he's okay."

Addison manages a smile, though it probably looks more like a grimace. "It's always better to be safe than sorry," she agrees.

"Thank you for understanding."

"That dream sounds scary. If I were to have a dream like that, I'd be absolutely terrified," Addison confides.

Chloe scrutinizes her doctor, and then grins. "Dr. Montgomery, not to be rude or anything, but do I detect a _baby bump_?"

Addison looks down at herself. Her stomach is still pretty flat, but if you're looking for it, she's definitely starting to show. She tries not to grin. "Yes. Now, this is going to be cold," she warns.

Chloe waves away the warning away in favor of more interesting topics. "You're just starting to show," she declares, agreeing with Addison's verdict. "You're still tiny though, which I hate you for. I feel like I could fit two of you inside of me."

Addison laughs, but becomes serious as she studies the monitor. There is a baby, but no movement, and she can't find a heartbeat. "Chloe, has anything happened to you lately? Physically, I mean. A fall or something?"

Um… I was in a car accident a couple of days ago. It was just a fender bender and no one got seriously hurt, but it was pretty bad. Why?" Addison watches the terrible realization hit. "Oh."

"Chloe, I am so, so sorry."

"Wow… I just… I never thought…" Chloe stammers as she stares off into space.

Addison struggles to remain professional as the terror from last night rises in her throat. "Chloe, I… I am so… I- I have to go. I'm sorry."

She runs out of the room, practically trampling a nurse on the way out.

"Addison!" Izzie calls from down the hallway. Addison waves her off, not wanting anyone to see the tears gathering in her eyes. She runs into an on call room, sitting down on the bed before sobs wrack her body.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Izzie exclaims as she enters the room.

Addison shakes her head, trying to calm down, but that would entail normal breathing, which is something she's not doing so well right now. "Do you want me to get someone? Callie? Or… Alex? You guys are okay, right?"

Addison manages to calm herself down enough to speak. "Izzie, I- I need a favor."

"Sure. Anything."

"I need an ultrasound."

Izzie frowns. "An ultrasound? Why? Oh my God, is everything okay?"

"I- I'm not sure. I know it sounds stupid, but I had this dream, and I can't help feeling like it was mother's intuition or something. I just want to make sure."

"Okay," Izzie agrees.

Addison struggles to make herself look at least presentable. When she's satisfied, they head to an empty exam room. "Um, do you want me to get Alex?" Izzie asks uncertainly.

Addison sighs. "No. He's working with Mark, and he doesn't need something else to upset him."

"So you guys are together?" Izzie asks, more to keep Addison's mind off of what might happen. She doesn't really need an answer, she's seen the way they look at each other, and knows there's no possible way that they aren't.

Addison nods, biting her lip, staring nervously at the screen.

"That's good," Izzie says. "I'm glad. You make him happy."

Addison is about to answer, but Izzie gestures towards the screen. "Oh," she says as the air escapes her lungs. Then she visibly collapses in relief. "Thank God."

"Everything looks fine, Addison," Izzie assures her. "The baby looks perfect."

Addison grins. "Perfect."

0ooo0

Alex comes home with Addison after her shift, deciding to avoid the awkwardness that is Derek and Meredith in the same house as them. But he's been acting weird all night. He's evasive and restless. Finally, Addison calls him out on it. "Okay, what's wrong?" she asks.

"Nothing," he replies.

"Alex, don't lie to me," she commands. "What happened?"

"You're going to get bored," he says spontaneously. "You're going to get bored and leave."

"What?" Addison laughs. "What am I going to get bored of and where am I leaving?"

"Addison, you got bored of Derek and you got bored of Mark, and they're two of the most respected surgeons in the freaking country!"

Addison can feel the anger rising up in her throat, just as terror did earlier today. Okay, that's really a few too many emotions for one day. "Alex, I don't have any idea what you're talking about. Because I know that you don't think I cheated on my husband because I was _bored_. I know you don't think of me like that. He ignored for the better part of two years! And I know you know Mark cheated on me! So I'm not really sure where the hell this is coming from!"

All of a sudden, Alex realizes just how stupid this entire thing is. "I'm sorry," he apologizes. "I let Mark get to me."

She sighs. "It always comes back to Mark. Alex, you have to understand that for as long as you're working for him, he's going to try to undermine us. And he's going to say things that are completely ridiculous. But he'll also say things that are kind of true. And I would prefer it if you would talk to me about it before going all passive-aggressive on me. I know I've made mistakes, but I've learned from them, and I'm better because of them. I'm never going to hurt you like I hurt them. I learned. But I need you to trust me."

He kisses her. "I do. So Izzie said something about an ultrasound. Is everything okay?"

Addison smiles. "Everything's fine. I just got nervous."

"You want to talk about it?"

She leans forward so her lips are barely a centimeter away from his. "You know, I don't really want to talk at all right now," she whispers, eyes closed.

"And I'm okay with that," he replies before closing what little distance remains.

* * *

**Just in case you were wondering, Chloe Meyers is one of my closest friends. So I wrote her in with a dead baby, because that's just the kind of friend I am. I needed something to make Addison freak out again, and I promised Chloe I would write her in. I just don't think this was what she had in mind... Oh well. But if I don't update ever again, you can probably be sure it's because Chloe has beaten me to death with my computer or something. **

**But anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! And before you start getting annoyed about the length, just know I considered stopping around when Addison says "Oh", and not let you know the outcome, but that seemed like another thing that would get me an angry mob.**

**-Juli-**


	16. In Which Problems Are Solved And Created

**Yeah, I don't really have much to say, but like Kate811 said, the chapters look naked without something at the top. Well, I hope you enjoy it. Um, please don't do the whole angry mob thing at the end. Apparently I really like writing things that provoke them, but please let's not for today. I'm very busy and don't really have time for running from a mob.**

**(Disclaimer)**

* * *

Addison sighs and rubs her temples. Ever since Alex began working with Sloan, he's been in a terrible mood. He tries to hide it from her, but it's not like he's all that difficult for her to figure out in this instance. Although it's nowhere near as bad as she thought it would be, it is also not nearly as good as she had hoped either. It's not like she had hoped the two men would suddenly become best friends, but achieving a level of civility would be nice.

"Alex, are you okay?" she asks. They're at her house after work. He's been spending more and more time at her place lately. She sits at the kitchen table, reading, while he makes them dinner. He's proven himself to be rather adept in the kitchen, which is both surprising and joyful, since the extent of Addison's skills in the kitchen is using the microwave.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answers, sounding anything but.

"Don't like to me," she says. "I'm pregnant, and hormonal, and I don't appreciate being lied to, so don't do it."

He turns away from the stove. "Addison, don't worry about me."

"And don't tell me not to worry about you either!" she snaps.

"Addie, calm down."

"No, Alex! I'm sick of you trying to protect me from every little thing! I'm pregnant, not made of glass! I can take a little stress and you obviously aren't fine! This thing isn't going to work if you're always shutting me out! It goes both ways, you know!"

He sighs. "You're right."

"Thank you," she nods. "Now can you please just tell me what's wrong?"

"You mean besides the fact that I've been stuck doing charts and getting your ex-boyfriend's laundry for the past three weeks? Or that I'm lucky if I get to _look _at a patient? Or how about every time I turn around, Sloan is saying something that makes me want to punch him?" He gets louder and angrier with each word.

Addison looks down. "I'm sorry, Alex. I didn't mean to upset you."

"Yeah, well," he says, then bites his tongue.

"I could try to talk to him," she offers.

"Don't. It's my thing, let me deal with it."

"Okay," she agrees. "Fine. Just please don't punch him. I don't need you kicked out of the program on top of everything else."

"I won't," he laughs.

"Thank you," she says, resting her hand on her growing stomach, an action that is quickly becoming a habit.

Quietly, she enquires, "Alex, can I ask you something?" He nods, piling food onto plates. "Before, when I was here, before I went to LA…" she trails off, not exactly sure how to bring up the way he treated her before. It never seemed like a big deal before, but she's been thinking about lately—obsessing, if she's perfectly honest. For awhile, it hadn't mattered. She didn't care about how he had treated her before; it didn't seem important. After all, he loves her now, so the past should be irrelevant. But the more she thinks about it, the more nervous she gets. His reversal seems so miraculous; what if it doesn't last? It would just help her to know why he treated her like he did.

He sighs, and she can tell he's been expecting this question. "It isn't going to make sense now," he warns her.

"Nothing makes sense anymore," she retorts. "I'm pregnant and you're pretending to be the father. I think we're way past making any sort of sense."

"Do you remember the day we slept together?"

She rolls her eyes. "And you told me I wasn't your girlfriend? Yeah, I'm never forgetting that. I'm never letting _you _forget it. That's blackmail for the rest of your life."

"You said something to Callie at the nurses' station. Ava heard it." He says Ava's name carefully—she's not something they discuss a lot. "You told her you wanted someone who barbeques and plays catch or whatever. I didn't do that, so I freaked out."

Addison tries to hold out, she really, really does, but she can't help it. She bursts out laughing. "So you were such a jackass to me because you were afraid of what you're doing now?" she asks between giggles.

"I told you it didn't make sense!" he exclaims.

She shakes her head. "I think that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"Whatever. You wanted to know."

Addison becomes serious. She picks at her food with downcast eyes. "Things are never going to be easy for us, are they?" she asks.

He smiles. "Probably not. But that makes it more interesting, don't you think?"

0ooo0

Addison sits in the cafeteria, enjoying solitude and trying to enjoy a turkey sandwich whose main ingredient appears to be cardboard.

"Addison!" Her name seems to be called in surround sound. A quick glance around shows Izzie approaching her to the right, Callie to the left.

"Oh boy," she murmurs under her breath. Though she's friends with both women, they clearly haven't grasped the friends-by-proxy concept. Both of them speed up in an effort to reach her first, and arrive at the same time.

"I was here first, Stevens!" Callie exclaims.

"No, you weren't!" Izzie retorts. "It definitely was a tie if I didn't beat you!"

"Well, mine's more important!" Callie snaps.

"Yeah, I doubt it," Izzie replies skeptically.

"Hey!" Addison yells over their bickering. "Either you two learn to take turns or I'm not listening to either of you!" Izzie and Callie are silent. Addison lowers her voice. "You two are the only ones who know about… well, you know, and I would really appreciate it if you could at least pretend to be civil."

"Sorry," they both apologize, eyes downcast.

"Apology accepted," Addison nods. "Now, what do you two want to tell me? One at a time, if you don't mind."

Callie groans. "God, you're already becoming a mother!" Izzie snickers and Callie grins.

Addison hides a smile. Just because Callie meant it as an insult doesn't mean she's going to take it as one.

"Well," Callie continues. "I just thought you might like to know that your ex-boyfriend is about to get his face bashed in by your current one if he doesn't shut up within the next minute or two."

Addison groans.

"Uh, not to make this worse," Izzie says apologetically. "But Pete is in the lobby, pretty much demanding to speak to you."

Addison groans again and resists the urge to bang her head against the table until rendering herself unconscious. "Okay," she says after gathering her bearings. "Izzie, can you go tell Pete that he'll just have to wait a few seconds? I'll be there in a minute."

Izzie nods and heads off to do her assigned task. Addison turns to Callie. "Can you please take me to wherever my idiots are?"

Callie laughs as she leads Addison to the third floor. On the way she explains, "Mark's been baiting Alex all day, telling all these stories about you and him and making all these comments that make it sound like Alex isn't good enough for you. Honestly, if you want my opinion, I think you should just let Alex punch him; the guy deserves it."

They arrive at the nurses' station. One glance tells Addison that Alex is just about ready to explode and Mark is anticipating it. He's in the middle of telling one of his stories to everyone in the hallway when they get there. "Mark, that's enough," Addison orders.

Alex looks up. "I told you to let me handle it," he snaps.

"How, exactly?" Addison retorts. "By punching him again? In case you've forgotten, that's why you're here in the first place!"

"You should have let me deal with it," he says coldly before storming off.

"Alex, wait!" she calls after him, starting to follow as best she can.

"Addison, I need to talk to you," Mark says, following her.

"Not now, Mark," she replies. He doesn't give up, but, then again, she didn't really expect him to.

"Yes now, Addison."

"Addison!" she hears her name called. She turns to find Pete stalking towards her with Izzie trailing helplessly behind him.

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaims. "I tried-"

"We need to talk," Pete cuts her off.

"Who's he?" Mark asks, sizing the other man up.

As they squabble, Addison looks between the two men who are her past and after the one man she hopes is her future, and begins to feel dizzy. She swallows, trying to ignore the roaring in her ears. She opens her mouth to talk, but no sound comes out. The last thing she hears before passing out is both Izzie and Callie calling for Alex.

* * *

**Like I said earlier, please no angry mob! But I will tolerate you yelling at me in a review! ;)**

**-Juli-**


	17. In Which Addison Regains Consciousness

**I don't really have much to say here either... Um, I guess you could know that my leg is so asleep right now I fear that standing up will result in me screaming in that weird quasi-pain or collapsing to the floor because my leg won't support my weight.**

**As earlier stated.**

* * *

Addison blinks as her surroundings come into focus. She doesn't really pay much attention to them, choosing instead to focus on Alex's face, every ounce of concern he feels evident in his eyes. "Alex?" she mumbles, trying to sit up. "W-what's going on?"

Although Alex opens his mouth to speak, Callie is the one to answer. "You fainted. You've been out for the past twenty-four hours."

Before Addison can truly start to freak out about this piece of information, Izzie whacks her friend-by-proxy in the arm. "Don't listen to her," Izzie advises. "It's been about three minutes." She turns to Callie. "Stop stressing her out!"

"Okay," Callie agrees. "But you have to admit, her face-"

"Was pretty priceless," Izzie agrees.

Addison frowns. "When did you two start being friends?"

"While you were passed out," Callie replies nonchalantly.

"You became friends in three minutes?" Addison asks skeptically.

"Yeah, well, you've got enough on your plate right now, and Izzie and I probably aren't helping. I'm not saying I like her or anything."

Addison smiles and shakes her head. "Thank you."

"Addison, we need to talk," Pete says, infringing into their bubble.

Everyone opens their mouth to tell him to stop, but surprisingly Mark beats them all to it. "She just passed out. You can wait until she feels up to it."

Everyone stares. "Er, thanks, Mark," Addison says awkwardly. Alex helps her to her feet.

Mark nods. "Here, I'll show…"

"Pete," Pete supplies helpfully.

"I'll show Pete around or something while get check out by Derek, just in case."

Everyone looks at him, wondering why he's suddenly turned around. "He's right," Alex speaks up. They all become very sure of the coming of the apocalypse.

"I'm fine," Addison finally says.

"No, Addison. You're going to get an ultrasound and get checked out by Derek," Alex insists.

"I'll page him," Mark offers.

"Fine," Addison sighs, reminding herself why she hates getting ganged up on.

0ooo0

Ten minutes later, yet another unscheduled ultrasound confirms that the baby is fine while Derek checks Addison out and gives her a clean bill of health. "But I want you to take the rest of the day off," Derek warns. "Rest." Addison opens her mouth to protest, but he cuts her off by repeating, "_Rest,_ Addison." And then he turns to Alex, who hasn't left her side since she fainted. "Can you take her home and take care of her. As far as I can see, she's fine, but if you see any signs of a concussion or if she faints again, I want to know."

Alex nods. "I'm fine!" Addison insists. "I don't need to go home!"

"Addison, you're going home," Alex insists easily. "You need to take care of yourself, and you need to take care of the baby, and staying here doesn't do either. You're going home."

"Besides," Derek adds reasonably. "Do you really think that Richard's going to let you stay once I tell him I want you to go home?"

Addison glares at Alex. "Why are you ganging up on me with all of my exes today? You're supposed to hate each other! Why don't you two hate each other?"

"Because we both care about you," Derek answers for Alex.

Addison sighs and resigns herself to a day at home.

0ooo0

"Weren't you mad at me?" Addison asks as they sit in her living room. "Before, I mean."

"Yeah," he replies, tugging gently on a strand of her hair. "And I still would be if you weren't such a damn drama queen and would quit fainting because I'm mad at you."

"Okay, I didn't fait because of you!" she insists. He gives her a look. "At least, not entirely," she amends. "It was just… Mark was being Mark, and Pete, and you, and it… it was just too much."

He nods. Addison looks down as she picks at one of the throw pillows. "I'm sorry I butted in anyways. I thought I was doing the right thing, but it was really none of my business."

"I wasn't going to punch him, you know," he replies. "I'm not stupid enough to throw away my chance to work at Seattle Grace, and with you, just to beat up Sloan."

"Good to know," she smiles. "So I guess I did that whole fainting thing for nothing then."

"It got you out of talking to Pete," he points out.

"This is true," she agrees. "I wonder what he wanted…"

0ooo0

They go out to dinner that night, at Addison's insistence. He wants to stay in, but she's fairly certain that she's going to go insane if she doesn't step foot outside the house until tomorrow, so he agrees. They go to a nearby restaurant and sit quietly in a corner booth, mainly just enjoying each other's company. Towards the end of the meal, their attention is drawn to a happy family sitting nearby. There are three generations represented at the table: two teenaged children, their parents, and one set of grandparents. Addison can't help but smile; they're obviously comfortable around one another, teasing and laughing as if they don't have a care in the world. Alex follows her line of sight and smiles when he sees what she's smiling at.

"I want that," Addison admits quietly "I want dinners, and birthdays, and all of it."

"Yeah, well, you've only got a couple more months to wait," he points out, kissing her.

When they separate, Addison says his name quietly and he looks at her. "I was thinking…" She draws a breath to give herself strength. "I was thinking that half your stuff is already at my house, and you have to be tired of shuttling between my place and Meredith's and I was thinking that maybe, if you wanted, you could just-"

He interrupts her rambling, correctly assessing that she wants him to put her out of her misery. "So I figure either you're asking me to move in or kicking me out. If it's the first one, the answer's yes."

She stares at him, amazed that he is able to take this all in stride while she's still struggling to find words. "O-okay," she stammers. Yes, she was the one asking, but this had been a little too easy. Not that she's complaining.

"I'll get my stuff from Meredith's after work tomorrow. That okay?" he asks.

"Y-yeah. Yeah, sure," Addison replies, her brain snapping back to its normal function.

0ooo0

She goes in the next day, happy to be back. The more she thinks about it, the more nervous she gets about her impending maternity leave. But at least the baby will keep her busy. She just has to keep herself from getting herself stuck on bed rest, because that would really and truly suck.

She sighs as she feels everyone's eyes on her. She had kind of hoped that the whole fainting thing would be old news by now, but that was clearly in vain. Everyone is staring at her as she could drop unconscious at any moment.

Rolling her eyes, she steps onto the elevator. Upon seeing it's other occupants, she starts wishing she had taken the stairs. Although Alex is standing right by her side, they are alone in an elevator with none other than Mark and Pete who are acting like the best of friends. Okay, what is with all the men in her life deciding that now would be a great time to befriend one another? Is it too much to ask that they all want to keep their distance from each other? Probably.

Suddenly, Mark reaches out and pulls the emergency button. Addison sighs. Well, this is certainly less than ideal.

"Is there a particular reason you've just decided to stop the elevator?" she asks when both men start staring at her.

"We need to talk," Pete says for somewhere around the hundredth time since returning to Seattle. Mark nods his agreement.

Addison takes one look at their faces and gets a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She leans into Alex, wishing she could sink into the floor of the elevator.

This isn't going to be good.

* * *

**I don't think this is angry mob worthy, fyi. Oh, and just in case you were wondering, the family in the restaurant was mine. So, yes, I did just write myself into my own story, but only for a minute! And you probably weren't even wondering in the first place. Oh the things you learn when I'm rambling and waiting for my leg to stop tingling...**

**-Juli-**


	18. In Which The Girls Go Shopping

**Why is it that whenever I intend mischief, my brain gives me well behaved, but when I want well behaved, I get mischief? No one listens to me. And I always feel like whenever I write Mark, he always comes off a little bipolar, because I always start writing him as a problem, and so he's mean and rude, but then I remember that I actually like the character, and so I try to fix it, and then end up writing him too nice. So sorry about that.**

**But I've actually gotten a couple of questions on why he would be so awful, because he's been nice and reasonable to Addison on the show (see the 60 days thing). I don't really have a true answer, but I think in this situation, Addison being pregnant is just dragging up some really bad memories, and he's upset since he thinks that she would keep Alex's baby, but not his. And we've seen that he can say some nasty things when he's hurting. So in this story, he's not so much evil as hurting.**

**Oh, and sorry that this chapter is such a hodgepodge of things. It's kind of me tying up a couple of lose ends.**

**I'm impressed if you read that all. I'm not impressed that I don't own Grey's.**

* * *

"Does this have to happen right now?" Alex asks, even though he knows the answer. He's just trying to buy Addison a couple extra seconds.

"This has to do with you too, Karev. You'll be glad you know," Mark replies.

"Well, are you going to tell why I'm trapped in an elevator, or do I have to guess?" Addison snaps when no one says anything.

"We know, Addison," Pete says.

She frowns. "Know? Know what?"

"We know you slept with all of us!" Pete exclaims.

Addison knows where he's headed with this, but she decides to prolong the time before he gets there. "Yes, I did, not that I'm proud of it. But that's not new. We _all _knew that already."

"No, Addison. You slept with all of us around the time you got pregnant."

"Oh," Addison breathes out. This isn't just bad, this is terrible.

"So how can you possibly know who the father is? It's not like it's a difference of a month or even a week! Days, Addison!"

Addison looks around at each man and sees their emotions written clearly on their faces. Alex waiting patiently to see what she'll do, Pete looking as angry as she's ever seen him. It's Mark's face that really hits her, though. He doesn't look angry or sad, just hurt. And as much as she hates it, that hurts her too. Yes, he can be a total jerk and he sometimes treats her terribly, but he's also the man who made her feel wanted and loved when her husband was ignoring her. He was the one to care. They have a past, and in that past all they've ever done is hurt each other, so maybe he's a little justified in the things he says to her. They're just all part of this horrible, destructive game they play.

It's with this realization in mind that Addison looks at Alex, then down at the floor, and whispers, "I- I don't."

"What?" Pete asks.

She looks to Alex, expecting to see anger or at least surprise. He just gazes back at her, acknowledging that this is hers to deal with. She straightens up, feigning a strength that she's not sure she has. "I don't know. I wish I did, but I don't."

The elevator is thrown into a bit of an uproar as both Mark and Pete process this information. Finally Pete notices a bit of a discrepancy. "Why aren't you angry about this?" he asks Alex.

Alex shrugs. "I've always known."

Pete turns on Addison. "So you felt like it was okay to tell him, but not us?"

Addison sighs. "I'm dating him. I am _not_ dating you."

"I have a right to know if I'm going to be a father!"

Addison rolls her eyes. All this drama is starting to give her a headache. "You're right. You do. But since I don't know if you are, there are holes in that argument."

"So you've just been pretending this entire time?"

"Pretending that I know who the father is, yes. Pretending to be in love with Alex?" She looks at the subject of her sentence with a smile as she says this. "No."

"Wow," Pete says.

"Great, so now that you know my deep, dark secret, can we please get out of this God forsaken elevator?" she snaps.

"I want to know," Pete says suddenly.

"Know?" Addison frowns.

"I want to know if the baby is mine."

"Dude, she already told you she can't tell you," Alex finally steps in. He can see that she's starting to tire of the constant stream of demands and questions.

"What does it even matter?" This question originates surprisingly from Mark. The snap of everybody's heads turning is almost audible. He sighs. "Look, it's obvious that even if she were to find out, it wouldn't make a difference. There's no point in trying anymore." He reaches out and pushes the emergency button back in. The elevator lurches to life. Right before the doors open, he looks at Addison. "I give up."

"Mark!" she calls after him. She glances at Alex, who nods to go after him. "Mark, wait up. I can't walk that fast."

He turns. "Where's your boyfriend?" he asks.

She sighs. "Mark, I just want you to know, I've been thinking for a long time, and I think I do want to find out."

"You don't have to do that. If not knowing makes you happy, then you don't need to worry about me. Do what makes you happy."

"Mark…"

"Contrary to what you seem to think, Addison, I do care about you. And even if you decide not to find out whose baby you're having, I'm going to act like it's mine. You may not want me in your life, but I want to be in the baby's."

She smiles gently. "Mark, you'll always be in my life, just not like we used to think."

"So long as you're happy."

"I am," Addison assures him.

"And Karev's really the one to do that?" Mark sounds amazed.

She laughs. "Strange, isn't it?" She smiles just thinking about her boyfriend.

"God, what is it about this hospital's interns? First Derek, now you."

"Oh, don't think I haven't seen the looks Lexie Grey's been sending you. She's got quite the crush on you!"

"What?"

"Don't act stupid. It doesn't look good on you, Mark," Addison giggles.

"Yeah, well…"

Addison's jaw drops. "Am I reading you right? Do you actually _like _her? And here I was thinking you were unrequitedly in love with me!" She laughs. "Good for you, Mark. Really."

He rolls his eyes. "Yeah, whatever."

"No, really." She opens her mouth to say something else, but her pager goes off. "I really, really hope we can be friends again at some point."

0ooo0

"Okay, I'm ready," Addison announces the next morning.

Alex glances at her outfit. "You're wearing that?" He sounds surprised. It's not that she doesn't look good, because the woman could pull off a potato sack, but this is the first time he's ever seen her willing to leave the house in a pair of sweatpants.

"They're the only thing that fit," she pouts. "Because apparently my body has decided to mutiny and turn me into a freaking _whale _overnight!"

Alex bites back laughter. "Addison, you work with pregnant women all day, every day. You can't have possibly expected to go through this without gaining a couple of pounds. It just means you need to go shopping for ma-"

She silences him with a glare that says clearly that if he dares use the m-word in her presence, she will make very good use of another m-word and murder him.

He gets the message quickly. "_More _clothes," he says hastily. "You should go shopping for more clothes with Izzie and Callie. I'm sure they'd love to."

"I guess," she sighs. Then she gives him an impish grin. "Nice save, by the way."

0ooo0

Izzie and Callie quickly agree to the idea of going shopping, and they agree on Friday after work. It takes some convincing, but Izzie and Callie do manage to convince Addison to at least _look _at the maternity clothes.

Once they're done pestering her about the clothes, though, they start pestering her about other baby related things. "Oh, come on, Addison! You know I know you know!" Izzie exclaims.

"I couldn't even follow that last sentence," Addison laughs.

"You've looked at millions of other people's ultrasounds, and you've seen yours obviously, so I know you know whether you're having a boy or a girl!"

"And I should tell you this because…?" Addison says, idly browsing through the clothes on the rack in front of her.

"Because we're your friends," Callie replies easily. "And I know that secretly you're dying to tell someone. Because we know you know."

"Maybe I don't," Addison says.

"Please, you so do!" Izzie retorts. "We all know it. It'll be so much easier to throw you a baby shower if we don't have to freaking guess!"

Addison stops. "You're throwing me a baby shower?" she asks.

"Duh," Izzie says. "You can't have a baby without a shower. Well, I did, but that doesn't count at all."

Callie adds, "Izzie and I are throwing you one, and it's already settled, so don't be difficult about it."

"Fine, I won't," Addison agrees. "But I'm not telling you."

"The baby wants us to know!" Izzie exclaims. "And here, try this on; it would look good on you."

Addison giggles at the absurdity of Izzie's statement as she takes the shirt handed to her. "How can you possibly know what my baby wants? And even if it _were _possible, I seriously doubt that she would—damn it!"

Izzie and Callie's faces light up. "She?" Callie asks.

"You're having a girl?!" Izzie nearly explodes in excitement.

Addison nods, trying not to smile.

"Oh my God!" Callie smiles. "Congratulations!"

"That is so exciting! Have you guys started thinking about names? Does Alex even know?"

"No," Addison replies sarcastically. "I thought it would be really fun if I just kept it from him. Besides, he's been in the room during my appointments. Of course he knows!"

"I am so excited for you!" Izzie squeals, reaching out to touch Addison's stomach.

Addison laughs. "Did my stomach suddenly become public property and nobody told me?" she asks, raising an eyebrow. "What is with everyone's sudden infatuation with touching me?"

"Side effect of pregnancy," Callie explains easily.

"Sorry," Izzie apologizes. "But I'm just so excited!"

"It's fine," Addison replies. "I don't mind you guys, but the random strangers are starting to get a little creepy."

"Yeah, well, get used to it," Callie says. "Because everybody loves a pregnant lady and there is no denying that you're pregnant."

"You're having a girl! I'm going to have a niece!" Izzie exclaims.

Addison refrains from pointing out that they're not technically related because her self-control finally breaks and she can't stop grinning. It feels so good to share the news with her closest friends finally. "I'm having a girl," she repeats, then throws her head back and laughs.

* * *

**Well, there you have it. Addison's having a girl, Mark and Pete are being okay, and we're nearing the end of the story. I'm going to try and get it finished before I go back to school. We'll see. I already have the last chapter written (I've had it written for awhile), and I already have an idea for the epilogue. I'm thinking maybe two, three chapters more and an epilogue. Now the real question is if the story will listen to me.**

**-Juli-**


	19. In Which Things Are Chosen

**Okay, so I didn't really intend to write this chapter. What I mean is that I didn't mean to put this in at all. But I got this idea for a story, and I didn't want to start a new one without updating, because I'd feel guilty, so you get this. Consider it a bonus chapter.**

**Still not mine.**

* * *

"I can't decide," Addison announces as she sits cross-legged on the bed, leaning against the headboard. Alex comes out of the bathroom, where he was brushing his teeth. They've settled into the domestic thing surprisingly well, although they do argue a bit more. But they already argued pretty frequently, so it's not that big of a change.

"What are you looking at?" he asks, settling in beside her.

"Paint colors," she explains, holding up three swatches. "I do like the pink, but I really like the mint green, or the light yellow."

"Uh…" he says, while feeling utterly useless in this situation. Addison chews her bottom lip in thought. She looks so adorable, that the only reason he doesn't lean and kiss her is that he knows that she would think he was deflecting and get pissed. "Pink's a girl color, right? I mean, that's what most people do, right?"

She glares at him. "There are no such things as girl colors. But you're right that most people do pink. It kind of feels ordinary, you know? I don't want to encourage her to be just plain ordinary."

He laughs. "I don't think the color of the paint is going to send subliminal messages to our daughter, Addison."

She grins. "Wait, say that again."

"Say what again?"

"You said our daughter. I want to hear it again."

"Our daughter?" It comes out as more of a question than he intended, but he's really confused by this sudden obsession with those two words.

Addison smiles. "She just kicked. I think she likes the idea. Like me."

Alex places a hand on her stomach and looks her in the eyes. "I love you, Addison," he says. He feels the baby kick again.

"She kicks any time she hears your voice," Addison comments. "It's a little ridiculous. You're not even related to her, but she loves you already."

"I told you kids love me," he smirks.

She smiles back. "So, paint colors. And after paint colors, we really should start talking about names."

"I couldn't care less about what color you paint the room," he replies. It's not like he's got anything to gain by pretending to care about something he doesn't.

Addison regards the options again. "I think I like the yellow," she says decisively. "Yeah, I definitely like the yellow."

"You know, you can choose the pink without being scared it'll force the kid to be ordinary. Paint isn't that powerful."

She glares at him. "You don't understand," she informs him. "But that's okay, I don't expect you to. And I really think I like the yellow."

"Glad that's settled then."

"So names," Addison starts.

"Addison, she's your daughter, you should name her."

"And now she's back to being my daughter?" Addison rolls her eyes. "No. I want the Alex back who thinks she's his daughter too. I want your opinion. I only have three conditions: no food, nature, or stripper names."

"So I guess that puts Cherry right out of the question," he jokes.

She glares, yet again. "Not funny. Don't even joke. She might hear you."

He laughs. "What are you thinking?" he asks.

"I've always loved the name Melanie."

"Wasn't that the name of…?"

"Batgirl? Yes. I kind of like the idea of naming the baby after her. That was the first time I ever realized that I really was meant to have kids, even if my body didn't agree with me."

"I like it," Alex agrees.

"What about you?" Addison asks. "Have you even thought about it?"

"I always thought… My mom's mom was the only person who ever let me know I meant something. I just always thought I'd name my kid after her, if by some weird chance I had a daughter. But her name was Rose, which kind of falls under the nature category."

Addison waves this last bit off with a wave of her hand, even as she holds back tears. He's turned out to be such an amazing man that sometimes she forgets just how crappy his childhood was. "It's a flower, which is totally different."

"How?" he asks. "Don't break your rules just to make me happy."

"Flowers don't try to kill you," Addison retorts. "And I'm not. I'm bending my rules to make me happy. I would love to name her after your grandmother. She'd be lucky to have such an amazing namesake. Besides, Melanie Rose does have a nice flow to it."

"So that's it? We're done?"

"I guess. Wasn't this process supposed to be long and annoying? I mean, shouldn't we have fought and manipulated to get our ways?" Addison inquires. "Isn't that normal?'

"Yeah, I think we pretty much suck at the normal thing." Before she can answer, he kisses her, and she forgets whatever it was that she was going to say. It couldn't have been all that important.

0ooo0

"Good morning, Addison," Derek says the next morning. The smile he gives her looks like it might actually physically hurt him.

"What's wrong with you?" she asks suspiciously.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong with me. I'm not the one leading everyone on."

Her eyes narrow. "You know."

"What? That you don't actually know who your baby's father is? Yeah, I know."

"Who told you?" she asks, surprisingly calm for this crisis. She had begun to think they were in the clear. It's been nearly two weeks since the elevator incident, Pete is back in LA, and Mark has been keeping quiet, even if he is now perceptibly nicer to her now.

"Mark and I were talking last night," Derek says guiltily.

"I'm going to kill him," she mutters under her breath.

"Addie, he was drunk, he didn't know what he was saying. You know how he is when he's drunk."

She sighs. "Who else knows?"

"It was big news," Derek explains, looking at the floor. "I had to tell someone, so I told Meredith."

"Naturally," Addison replies sarcastically.

"I think she may have told Cristina."

"So basically what your saying is that by now the entire hospital knows," she clarifies.

"Maybe," Derek winces.

"Which would explain the weird looks I've been getting all morning," Addison sighs. "Great. Thanks, Derek, really. This is _exactly _what I need right now."

"Wait, you're blaming me?"

"Like you said, Mark was drunk. Besides, he's been great about this entire thing, so I really can't be mad at him. And if you hadn't decided to tell your girlfriend, when you _know _everything she gets told gets told to Cristina and therefore the entire hospital, none of this would have happened. So, yeah, I'm blaming you."

Derek sputters a few excuses but Addison doesn't really pay any attention. Her pager goes off and she pales as she checks the message. "The Chief wants to see me," she announces. "This is all your fault."

Before Derek can reply, she walks off, trying to steel herself for the meeting from hell.

* * *

**There's the end of your bonus chapter. If you're lucky I might write up the meeting, but I leave for Ashland tomorrow and I still have to pack. And then I won't be back until Monday, so I have a feeling you're going to have to go this weekend without an update, for which I'm really sorry. In the meantime, you should review, and go check out my new story! Okay, done pimping myself now.**

**Also, there's a poll on my profile- who do you think is Melanie's father? I'm curious, so please go vote!**

**-Juli-**


	20. In Which There Are Big Speeches

**Okay, guys, here's the last you're going to get out of me this weekend. I'm off to Ashland to watch me some Shakespeare! But don't worry, I've got about 10 hours of car riding to look forward to this weekend, so there will definitely be my pencil and a notebook involved somewhere, and hopefully I can post some time early next week. Unfortunately, I have no laptop, so otherwise this would go so much quicker. *Sigh*. Anyone want to write a letter of protest to my parents?**

**I don't own a laptop, and I don't own Grey's.**

* * *

"What were you thinking?" Richard rants. "Lying to me, leading everyone on! Even if he does turn out that he's the father, it doesn't change the fact that you lied to me!"

Addison stares at the floor near his shoes. Alex sits next to her, watching the Chief do all but foam at the mouth.

"Have you got anything to say for yourselves?" Richard asks. He looks to Addison, who shakes her head miserably. She's never liked being in trouble; there is a definite reason she was such a good child. She hates being yelled at.

"I do," Alex says. Addison turns to look at him.

"Well?" the Chief asks.

"It doesn't change anything, sir. We're still together, and I still love her. I'm not letting her go any time soon, so I don't really see how this is such a big deal."

"Well, I, uh," Richard stammers. Clearly Alex's calm has put him off balance.

"I mean, the only thing that has changed now is that you know that Melanie might not be mine, and that doesn't matter to me, so I don't really get why it should matter to you."

"Melanie?" Richard asks quietly.

"We named her last night, Richard," Addison speaks up for the first time. "And I would really," she hesitates, and then corrects herself. "_We _would really love it if you and Adele would be her godparents."

"Of- of course," Richard agrees, trying to keep up with the quick emotional changes. "Karev, you're free to go. I'd like to talk to Addison a little about her work schedule and maternity leave."

He gets up to leave and his arm brushes hers. She shivers at the chill that runs down her spine. Sleeping together has done nothing for the palpable attraction between them—if anything, it's made it worse. He smiles at her and walks out of the room. Her eyes follow him, and he turns to smile again at her before leaving.

"Did you see that, Richard?" she asks blissfully.

"See what?"

"He looks at me."

He has to admit that the last time he had seen anyone look at Addison like that, she had been wearing a long, white gown and exchanging vows with his head of neurology, and even that seemed shallow compared to what he had seen in the resident just now.

"You do seem happy," he admits. "And I'm glad. I'm just worried for you."

She frowns. "About what?"

"It's just… While Dr. Karev is gifted in the OR, he has quite the reputation with women."

Addison's frown deepens. "He loves me, Richard. He loves me enough to stay with me through a pregnancy that may not be his. I know about his reputation, believe me. I've been on the wrong side of that reputation more than once. But you don't know him like I do, and I know he's changed, and he's still changing. And I know that I fall more in love with him every day, because he's becoming better all the time."

"That was quite the speech, Addison," Richard comments wryly. "But as long you're happy then I'm happy for you. And Adele will be thrilled that you asked us to be godparents."

"Thank you, Richard," she says and starts to get up.

"Not so fast. Sit down," he orders. She obeys. "I see you've started to trim down your hours."

"Yes."

"Addison, you need to take more time off."

"What? I've cut back my hours."

"Only the minimum amount possible. You need to rest. You should be at home, getting ready."

"For what? My confinement?" Addison scoffs. "This isn't the Middle Ages! I don't need to be locked up for the final month of my pregnancy. And the baby isn't due for another two and a half months."

"I just worry."

"Well, thank you, but I can take care of myself. I _am _a doctor, and this _is _my specialty."

"Yes, but you're also ambitious, and a workaholic, so I know that you're going to push yourself further than you should."

"I'll be fine."

"Addison, if I have to ban you from working, I will. Start cutting back even more or I'll be forced to take action."

Addison sighs dramatically. "Fine."

0ooo0

Addison has taken the whole pregnancy thing in stride. The aching back, the weird cravings, she's accepted them with grace as inconveniences that will eventually disappear. The one thing she can't get over is the feet thing. She has freaking cankles! It would be funny, if it weren't so humiliating.

Alex, on the other hand, is starting to freak out. Outwardly, he's a great boyfriend—he massages her back, he goes on donut runs at two in the morning, and never has said anything about her cankles, except to deny that she has them. Inwardly, he's a mess. It's not only the thought of being responsible for another life (although that has him seriously stressed, and will no doubt, soon take over the number one spot on his fear list), it's also the thought that Addison might see her baby and decide that she wants a life with the father. The real father.

He hides his worries from Addison, but he can't hide them from Izzie, who interrogates him once she realizes that he's nervous. And then when he starts to say that maybe Addison and Melanie would be better off with Melanie's father, she snaps. "Oh, come off it, Alex. You know that's not true. And you know that technically, if not biologically, you're going to be that little girl's father. You're going to be the one to see her take her first steps, and hear her first words, and you're the one who's going to teach her to ride a bike and how to tie her shoes. You're going to be the one she tries to convince when Addison won't go along with something, and you're going to be the one who's always going to let her get her way, because you won't be able to say no to her. So stop it. You may not be her father, but you're going to be her dad."

Alex is no longer nervous about not being Melanie's father. Now he's scared stiff about being her dad.

0ooo0

His cell phone rings, and he picks up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey," Addison's voice comes through.

"You okay?" he asks.

"Yeah, I just wanted to let you know that I'm having Callie drive me to the hospital."

He frowns. She's not supposed to be working; she's officially on maternity leave. "Bad idea, Adds," he warns. "Don't do it."

"No, I'm pretty sure it's a good idea. I mean, I guess I could try to deliver my own baby, but that seems pretty stupid."

"Are you…?"

"In labor? Yeah. It's fine, the baby's not coming for awhile, but Callie's driving me to the hospital."

"You're calm. How are you calm?"

"Because I'm trying not to freak out. Listen, I've got to go, it's about time for another contraction, but I love you and I'll see you soon." And with that, Ridiculously Calm Addison hangs up the phone.

* * *

**Throwing things is not nice. Don't do it.**

**Review or I don't update until I get back from my second vacation, and that's two weeks from now. (You: What are you trying to do? Me: Blackmail you. You: Blackmail your readers? Me: Yes. You: I don't like it. Me: I'm fairly certain you're not supposed to. -Thank you to the ever-amazing show _Bones _for letting me borrow and twist that scene.)**

**-Juli-**


	21. In Which We Meet Melanie

**I'm baack! That's right, folks, we've only got two more chapters to go (including an epilogue). That's kind of really all I have to say...**

**Not mine.**

* * *

"Just a little more, Adds," he encourages his girlfriend.

"I hate you!" she cries.

"What? Why?"

"You're standing there being perfect, and I'm ugly, and in pain, and I can't blame you for any of it!" she sobs. The end of her sentence is punctuated by another scream.

"Okay, Addison," Dr. Weaver, Addison's temporary replacement, says. "You're ready. Now I'm going to want you to push. Can you do that?"

"I don't care, just get her out!"

Dr. Weaver chuckles. "Sounds like a plan to me."

0ooo0

"Knock, knock," Izzie says, poking her head into Addison's hospital room. "Can I come in?"

"If you can stand to look at me without makeup. I must look hideous."

"You look beautiful," Izzie says truthfully. "Motherhood suits you."

Addison blushes. "Thank you, Izzie."

"I can't believe I got called into surgery. It was really stupid too, because I was totally thinking about you the entire time. I wish I could have been there!"

Addison laughs. "Believe me, you wouldn't have wanted to. My insults can get… _colorful _when I'm in pain."

"Still," Izzie pouts. "But where's Melanie? I do get to see the bundle of joy, right?"

Addison smiles. "She's in the nursery. Alex is with her. I'm supposed to be sleeping."

"Oh," Izzie says anxiously. "You don't mind if I go now, do you? I mean, you are supposed to be sleeping and all."

"Go!" Addison laughs. The woman almost looks more eager to see her daughter than she is. Almost.

0ooo0

"Hey, Daddy!" Izzie exclaims as she bounds up to the nursery window.

"I'm not a dad," he replies.

She sighs. "Maybe not technically. But what you're doing for Addison is so… decent. You grew up when nobody was watching, Alex."

"Thanks, Iz, but I don't want to talk about it."

She frowns. "You look scared out of your mind right now," she comments.

He wants to scream that yes, he's scared out of his mind right now. He's been scared out of his mind for the past two weeks, and now it's one hundred times worse. She doesn't understand the sleepless nights he's spent, thinking about his father. She doesn't get that he's absolutely terrified of getting the slightest bit angry around Addison, because of what he might do. And now, with Melanie… Doesn't she get that he's completely enamored with Melanie Rose Montgomery? And if he ever were to even _think _about touching her in anger… And then add on top of all that, all the pressures of being a father.

"I… I have to get out of here," he says, more to himself than her.

"Leave?" Izzie asks. "Now? You can't leave now!"

He doesn't look at her as he replies, "Watch me."

And then he practically sprints away, leaving a shocked and slightly panicked Izzie behind.

0ooo0

Addison can hear Callie and Izzie whispering frantically outside her door. There's no need for that—she already knows exactly what they're talking about. "You can stop whispering, you know," she calls to them as loudly and as calmly as possible. "I know what you're saying."

Izzie and Callie slink into the room as if they've stolen the last cookie from the cookie jar. "He's gone, isn't he?" Addison asks. Neither of her friends answer, but their silence says everything. "Okay," she nods. "Okay."

A tear slips down her cheek, forging a trail for the ones that follow. She _knew _that everything was too perfect. She _knew _that he would leave. She _knew _that eventually he'd come to his senses. He was taking responsibility for a child that wasn't his—who does that? He probably had no idea of what he was getting himself into, and then second he saw Melanie, even though she's the most perfect thing to ever grace the earth, he freaked out.

Izzie and Callie stand silently as Addison starts to cry, and then weep. She's never cried this hard in her life. And the worst part is that she seems not to be conscious of anything but her own grief, feeding off it to create even more tears.

Izzie tries to hug the older woman, but she yanks out of her embrace, crying that she wants Alex, only Alex.

Callie offers to have Melanie brought in, but that plan doesn't work either. She doesn't want to see her baby, she doesn't want to see anyone but him.

They watch helplessly as their friend dissolves further into hysterics. Just when they're seriously starting to consider sedating her before she can hurt herself, Alex practically runs into the room.

Izzie's the first to notice and she wastes no time crossing the room to shove him. "Where the hell were you?!"

He doesn't answer, he doesn't even look at her. He just keeps moving towards Addison. He sits down in the chair beside her and grabs her hand. "Addison, it's okay. I'm here. I'm here and I'm not leaving. It's okay."

It takes even the great Alex Karev a couple minutes to calm her down. When she does, he kisses her softly. She slaps him.

"Don't you _ever _do that to me again, Alex Karev," she snaps. "Ever."

"I won't," he replies easily. "Especially if you always slap that hard."

0ooo0

"Where the hell were you?" Izzie asks, as they stand at the window to the nursery. Addison is sleeping; the physical and emotional exertions are finally taking their toll.

"Running," he replies simply. It's always easier to think when he's running.

"Any particular reason you decided to send your girlfriend into hysterics?"

"I needed to think."

"Oh, he needed to _think_!" Izzie cries sarcastically.

"I was scared out of my mind, okay?!" he exclaims. "I needed to think!"

Izzie's face softens. "And what did you think?"

"I thought that I'm not my dad," he admits.

"No, you're not," Izzie agrees.

"I have to learn from his mistakes, right?"

"Exactly."

"You want to hear something really stupid?" he asks.

"Always," Izzie replies.

"With Addison today, when I stopped being such an asshole, I realized that I want my own kids, which are the one thing she can't give me. But the only person in the world I'd want them with is her."

Izzie smiles sadly. "I don't know what to tell you, Alex. Vicious circles suck."

They stare in silence at little Melanie Rose Montgomery. "She really is beautiful," Izzie comments.

"She is, isn't she?" Alex replies. Izzie hears the mixture of wonder and love that she's heard in every delivery room she's ever been in.

She grins. "Alex, I think you and I both know you love that little girl too much to leave her."

And then she walks off to give him time to realize that she's right.

0ooo0

"Welcome home, Mellie," Addison whispers to her infant. Alex started calling her that, for absolutely no apparent reason, and Addison had quickly picked it up from him. It was hard to explain but the nickname just _fit _the girl whose eyes were most definitely her mother's.

"How are you feeling?" Alex asks her.

"Tired, sore, and fat," Addison snaps. "None of which is your fault, and I should quit taking it out on you," she amends when he sends her a look that says he just asked her a question, and there's no need to bite his head off.

He nods and kisses her. They walk into the (light yellow) nursery of their home to find that Izzie and Callie have taken the time to hang a banner that says "Welcome home, Mellie!" on it (once Addison had started calling Melanie Mellie, everyone else soon followed suit).

Addison takes one look at the banner and promptly bursts into tears.

Alex sighs and settles himself in for an emotional couple of months.

* * *

**Like I said, I've got one more chapter and an epilogue in me. Hopefully you can find it in your heart to review. ;)**

**-Juli-**


	22. In Which We Find Out

**I'm really, really sorry about the delay. I've had a completely hideous cold that pretty much knocked me flat on my back and I couldn't summon the energy to write. But I'm better and I wrote this quickly last night because I'm going to the beach later today and the only internet I'll have will be on my phone. It's not exactly condusive to updating. But I will be writing, no worries. So hopefully I'll have the epilogue all ready for when I come home a week from now.**

**I'm sorry if this seems hurried and kind of crappy. If it does, it's only because it's hurried and kind of crappy. I felt really bad about not updating for five days and then tacking on another seven without warning, and I didn't want to stick one of those really sucky author's notes as an entire chapter in and get your hopes up, so I wrote this last night when all I wanted to do was sleep.**

**Oh, and if I'm reading your stories, by the way, I'll still be reading them, but I can't review. But I promise to review when I get home!**

**In the meantime, I've been too sick to take over Shondaland.**

* * *

Addison frowns as she studies her reflection. Those last stubborn pounds are frustrating her to no end. It was different when she was pregnant. There was something gratifying about the weight gain, just because she loved the fact that she was pregnant. But now she's not pregnant, and she hasn't been able to work off all of the weight from when she was, and that's just not okay.

Right now, she's contemplating her possibly permanent weight gain (and the possible destruction of her sex life—no matter what Alex says to the contrary), to avoid thinking about more important things. Things like the fact that Mellie is almost five months old, and Addison _still _hasn't found the courage to have a paternity test done.

"It doesn't matter, right?" she asks her reflection. "Because I'll still be with Alex either way, so it's not like it'll change anything. And it's not like he'll love Mellie any less because she's Mark's. He knows there's every possibility-"

"Do you always talk to your reflection?" Callie asks, interrupting Addison's little freak out.

Addison jumps. "How'd you get in?"

"You gave me a key, remember?" Callie says, clearly humoring her friend.

"Right."

"That was a very involved conversation you were having with yourself. What were you talking about?"

Addison runs a hand through her hair. "Just trying to convince myself to finally figure everything out."

"And you have to talk to yourself in a mirror to do so?"

Addison rolls her eyes. "I'm also trying to convince myself that I'm not still completely fat."

"Addison, if you're fat, what does that make me? The only bit of weight you haven't lost only makes you look even better, so you're going to shut up now."

Addison turns to her friend. "Callie, you're not fat."

"Quit calling yourself fat, and I'll believe it. But anyways, what's new with you? And where's Mellie?"

"Mellie is currently napping, and the only thing new is that Naomi and Pete are flying up here for awhile to see her. And I really should take this opportunity to find out just exactly who is her father, but…"

"But what?" Callie prods. Addison studies the carpet intently. "But _what_, Addison?"

"It won't change anything, right?" Addison asks suddenly.

"What? Knowing who Mellie's father is? It's going to change everything. She's not just going to be yours anymore. You can't just pretend that she's Alex's and-"

Callie stops herself when she sees the glare Addison is giving her. She's pretty sure the room just got ten degrees colder. "Not. Helping," Addison says, gritting her teeth.

Callie hugs her friend. "It's going to be fine. Sometimes change is a good thing. And it'll be good for you to know. It'll be good for you and Alex to know."

Addison smiles, but the baby monitor starts to broadcast that Mellie is awake. "I have to go get her. I'll be back."

0ooo0

There is a knock on the door, and Addison smiles, knowing exactly who she'll find beyond it. Rocking Mellie in one arm, she opens the door. "Nay!"

"Hey! Is that Mellie? Can I hold her?" Naomi exclaims all in one breath, already extending her arms to take the baby.

Addison obliges. "Where's Pete?" she asks.

"Back at the hotel. He didn't want to intrude." Naomi studies her friend. "You look frazzled."

"I always look frazzled now. It's my new look. He didn't want to intrude, or he didn't want to see me and Mellie?"

"No, he wants to see you and he wants to see Mellie. I just think… I think he doesn't want to get attached too soon." There's an awkward silence as Addison reaches her guilt quota for the day. "So where is this Alex guy and when can I meet him?"

Addison laughs. "He should be here any second. He's at work. He's a resident."

"A resident?" Naomi asks. She opens her mouth to continue.

"Don't," Addison warns.

"I was just going to ask what your mother has to say about that."

"My mother has nothing to say about that," Addison retorts.

"Really? There's a first."

"Well, she doesn't exactly… know," Addison admits sheepishly.

"What?!" Naomi exclaims with a laugh. "Does she even know she has a granddaughter?"

"Yes!" Addison replies, indignant. "But she doesn't have to know who I'm living with. Besides, she's already starting to spoil Mellie rotten without making a single trip out here, so I figure that becoming a grandparent hasn't exactly changed her parenting styles."

Naomi looks down at the little girl in her arms. "She's absolutely beautiful, Addison."

"Thank you," her friend smiles.

"You just had to go and prove me wrong, didn't you? You can never let me be right," Naomi accuses her playfully.

Addison glares at her. "Okay, you were the one who told me I couldn't get pregnant in the first place. It's not like I planned it."

"I gave you my professional opinion."

"Yeah, well, apparently my body laughs in the face of your professional opinion." Addison glances down at her watch and frowns. "Alex should have been home by now."

"Relax, Addison," Naomi says easily. "He's probably just stuck in traffic or something. No big deal."

Addison shakes her head to clear it. "You're right. I'm just being paranoid."

Another ten minutes of easy conversation and Alex still isn't home. Addison starts to worry, but then she hears his key in the lock and she relaxes. He enters the living room carrying a plastic sack.

"Where have you been?" Addison asks, trying to hide the annoyance that usually comes after she gets frightened. She doesn't like being scared.

"Traffic. And I got sandwiches, so you can't be mad at me. But I didn't know there'd be someone else." He shoots a look at Naomi.

"Alex, Naomi, Naomi, Alex," Addison says, waving her hand. "You could have at least called."

"Dude. Chill. I'm like twenty minutes late."

Naomi looks between her best friend and her best friend's boyfriend and decides that now would be a really, really good time to take her leave. "I should be going," she says. She hands off Mellie to Alex. He takes her without ceasing to argue with Addison. "Bye."

"Oh, Naomi," Addison takes a momentary break from her spat with Alex. "Tell Pete that I'm willing to find out while you're up here."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. I'll tell him." Those are her last words before exiting the house.

Alex's face has softened when Addison turns back to him, although that's not really anything new when he's holding Mellie. "So you're really going to do it?" he asks.

"Yes," she says icily. She gets up off the couch and walks towards their bedroom.

"Are you really going to be mad at me for being less than a half an hour late? Honestly?"

She doesn't deign to respond.

"It's not like I was out drinking or doing anything wrong. I brought food. Aren't you overreacting a little?"

She turns back to look at him. "Yes. But is it really too much to ask that you pick up a phone? It's not like I need to know exactly where you are at all times, but… I worry. I didn't used to worry. I was probably a lot more fun to date before I was a mother."

Alex laughs. "That's for sure."

She glares at him and shuts herself in their bedroom. He can hear the lock click. "Come on, Addison," he calls through the wood. "That was a joke. Remember? Sense of humor? You used to have one?"

No response. The insulting her thing really has got to stop before she's going to say anything.

"Addison, come on. I didn't think it was that big a deal."

Nadda.

Alex sighs and shifts Mellie in his arms. "But," he continues. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you, and I'll try to be better about it." He rolls his eyes, but it's so much easier to ask for forgiveness than turn this into the weeklong epic battle it will evolve into if he doesn't just suck up his pride and ask. "Forgive me?"

She opens the door. "What kind of sandwiches?"

0ooo0

"I can't look," Addison says, handing the test results to Izzie. "You do it."

"Okay," Izzie agrees hesitantly.

"No, wait, I want to," Addison interrupts. She grabs them back. She almost manages to break the seal before announcing, "I can't."

Izzie sighs as Callie and Alex groan. They're the only three people Addison wants around right now. Well, aside from Mellie, who is currently residing happily in Callie's arms, but she doesn't exactly count since she has absolutely no idea what is going on. But Addison is surrounded by Izzie, Callie, Alex, and Mellie, and that's exactly how she likes it. Everyone else involved can hear later. "Addison, either you open that freaking envelope now," Izzie says, "Or I'm ripping it from your hands and opening it myself. Your choice."

Addison glares, but she's finding that the more time she spends around her friends, the less effective her glare is on them. "Fine." She takes the envelope and reads the results. Everybody waits with bated breath.

Addison looks up at the people surrounding her. "So apparently," she comments. "Mark Sloan is the only man on this earth who can get me pregnant."

* * *

**Even in technically the last chapter I can't resist a big ending that really should have more to it. If you're angry because this was really short, take comfort in the fact that the way I'm planning the epilogue, I think it's going to have to be split into two parts because it's so long.**

**And now, I'm off to the beach, and hopefully you're off to review!**

**-Juli-**


	23. In Which There Are Firsts

**Hey there. You remember me, don't you? I wasn't gone that long people. But here's an epilogue for you. I'm not totally and completely happy with it, but I am glad it's finished and you should be too.**

**I have not found the time to take over Shondaland.**

_

* * *

_

_Mellie's First Word_

Addison sighs and pulls her hair back into a ponytail. "Come on, Mellie, please," she begs. Her child, who up until approximately ten minutes ago would only eat peas, has now decided that, as far as nourishment goes, peas are simply disgusting (she's not quite as discerning when it comes to things to throw). "You need to eat something," Addison explains, offering up carrots instead.

Mellie looks at her mother and smiles. In a very calm, very clear, and very happy voice, she says, "No."

Addison blinks. No? Really? Her daughter's first word is no? She really is Mark Sloan's child.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Mellie burbles happily.

Addison raises her eyes to the sky and takes a deep breath. "God help me," she mutters.

And then she smiles, because no or not, her daughter is talking.

_**Mellie's First Step (and, incidentally, her First Birthday)**_

"Alex, where did you put the video camera?" Addison calls, digging around in the closet where the object she seeks is _supposed _to be.

"I already pulled it out, Adds," he calls back.

"You could have told me that _before _I started digging around in the closet, Alex!" she replies, trying to hide the annoyance in her voice. It doesn't work. At all.

Okay, so maybe her frustration is a bit misplaced. Normally, she wouldn't get angry over him trying to make things easier for her (even if he failed). But she's getting nervous, because in approximately an hour, her friends will descend upon the house, and she will be forced to deal with people that she hasn't had to deal with all at once since Mellie was born. She has chosen to stay home for the majority of this year, although she is slowly starting to reintegrate herself back into work, because she finds that it's really hard to tear herself away from her daughter.

Her daughter who officially turned one as of an hour and forty-three minutes ago. Where the hell did the year go?

Alex appears as she shuts the closet door. "If I had known you were going to look for it, I would have told you," he explains. "And don't start getting mad at me."

Addison sighs. "Sorry."

The doorbell rings, effectively ending any sort of conversation. It's Izzie.

"Look what the cat dragged in," she announces to Addison, stepping aside to reveal Mark. Addison isn't surprised by this; she had invited Mark over early so he could spend time with Mellie. She's trying to do this whole thing maturely, which means no hiding her daughter from the man who fathered her. For his part, Mark is going along with the whole maturity thing. He seems content to see Mellie whenever Addison extends the invitation. He and Alex have even entered into an uneasy truce. Mark has even gone so far as to babysit so Addison and Alex can have an evening to themselves.

She's not surprised by Izzie either, since Izzie had volunteered to bake a cake for the party and currently transporting said cake.

"For the record, there wasn't a cat," Mark replies. "Unless Izzie counts as a feline."

Izzie glares at him good-naturedly. Addison glances between the two of them suspiciously. They've been very friendly as of late.

"So where is Squirt?" Mark asks. Squirt is his special nickname for his daughter. Everyone calls her Mellie but him.

"She's in the living room with Alex," Addison replies distractedly. She looks at Izzie and remembers the cake. "Here, let's put that in the kitchen."

Izzie and Addison adjourn to the kitchen while Mark heads off in search of Mellie. Addison studies her friend in silence. "Can I ask you something?" Izzie finally asks.

Addison hides a smile; she knows what's coming. "Sure. Go ahead."

"How would you feel if I were to…"

"Date Mark?" Addison finishes. She's not sure why she is so sure that she's right, but she's seen the way they interact.

Izzie looks at her in awe. "Er, um, yeah. Because he's asked me out to drinks a couple times but I've said no because of… well, because he's him and I'm friends with you, but he's really driving me crazy with the asking and-"

"Go for it," Addison interrupts her ramble.

"I'd never do anything without asking, and I wouldn't even be asking, except… wait, what?"

"Go for it," Addison repeats. "He deserves to be happy and so do you. It's not like I get a say in what he does anyways. You should definitely try and see. He's mature now. It's weird."

Izzie is saved from answering by the doorbell. Addison goes to answer it and finds Derek and Meredith on the outside. Addison has to stifle a laugh. Meredith is about seven months pregnant and, being a very tiny person in general, is completely dwarfed by her massive stomach. "Hi!" Addison exclaims, hugging her ex-husband quickly and attempting to wrap her arms around his pregnant girlfriend. "Come in. Sit down!" This last request is directed at Meredith once they reach the living room.

Meredith quickly obeys. Her back is currently trying to murder her. Addison smiles at the pregnant woman. "You should be at home resting."

"You look like you're going to explode," Alex comments from his post in the corner of the room. He's been watching Sloan play with Mellie; one of the conditions of the truce is that the time Mark gets with Mellie is actually his and his alone. That doesn't mean Alex leaves the room though.

"I probably am," Meredith groans.

"Which is why you should be at home," Addison replies.

Meredith smiles at the older woman. "If I'm going to be doing any exploding, I would much rather do so with you around to help."

"It's true. I can't think of a better place to go into labor than around Addison Montgomery," Callie agrees. Everybody jumps since nobody had been aware of her presence.

"I am really going to regret giving you that key, aren't I?" Addison asks when her heart stops skipping beats.

"Probably, yeah," Callie agrees good-naturedly.

"Maw!" Mellie crows. In Mellie's small vocabulary this means Mark. Alex holds the distinction of being "Dada", which goes tactfully unremarked upon by the hospital, Addison is "Mama", Izzie is merely "Zz", and Callie is "Ca".

Everybody looks towards the one year old. She hoists herself up and, completely unaccompanied, takes a couple wobbly steps before falling. Then she laughs and retries the process. Everyone stares in shock. Then Mark starts laughing and picks up his daughter, spinning her. "Good job, Squirt!" he exclaims. Mellie giggles in delight. He hands her over to her mother.

Addison kisses her daughter and brushes away a couple of tears. "Mama!" Mellie smiles. Addison smiles back and tickles her stomach. Mellie giggles. Addison looks over at her boyfriend and practically loses her breath. The amount of love and pride in his eyes is enough to knock the air out of just about anybody's lungs.

_**Mellie's First Vacation**_

"Addison?" Alex asks, lugging yet another suitcase to the car.

"Mm-hmm?" she replies, distracted by the complexities of strapping her three year old into her car seat.

"Isn't the point of vacation to get away from it all?"

"Yes. Why?"

"How the heck are we supposed to get away from it all when you insist on bringing it all with us?"

Addison glares at her boyfriend. "I like to be prepared," she explains.

"I'm getting rid of some of these suitcases," he insists. Then he grabs the smallest suitcase, which isn't the smallest in the world, and starts to take it back to the house.

"I wouldn't take that one, if I were you," Addison warns, turning her attention back to her daughter.

"And why not?" he asks as he rolls his eyes.

She turns and walks towards him, stopping when she can be heard by whispering. "I don't think you'll be very happy when you find out that you carted all of my lingerie back into the house," she smirks.

The suitcase makes its way back to the car.

The car ride is surprisingly easy, considering there is a three year old in the back seat. Mellie is a good traveler.

To celebrate the miracle of both of them managing to wrangle a week off at the same time they are taking a trip to Carmel—Mellie's first to anywhere outside of Seattle.

Rather than getting a hotel room (Addison has had enough of those, thank you very much), they've rented a condo. Both Addison and Alex prefer to have space to move about, and Mellie hasn't slept in their room for years now.

Once they are happily installed in their temporary beach home and dressed suitably, they wander down to the beach. Mellie, fearless toddler that she is, makes a mad dash for the water, and Alex quickly follows behind her. He scoops her up and hoists her up on his shoulders, carrying her out into the waters that so tempted her. She squeals in delight. Addison watches and smiles, but can't help but worry a little.

Alex lets her down, and holds her hands to help her jump over waves. Addison stops digging through her bag for the book she was planning to read. The scene playing out in front of her is impossible for her to take her eyes away from. But seeing him being so great with Mellie makes her a little sad. She wants nothing more than to be able to have a child with him, but that is just about impossible. She sighs and wonders what she did to deserve all this happiness.

Later, once they've washed the grime of the beach off them, they head back down to watch sunset.

Mellie takes great pleasure in stalking the birds. Her mother takes great pleasure in being nestled in Alex's arms.

As they watch the sun sink lazily into the ocean, Addison feels one of his arms abandon its task of wrapping around her. She frowns until it reappears again. They both keep their eyes on the sunset, and on Mellie, but he opens her hand, and she feels him slip something into her palm. She looks down and finds a ring glistening there. Then her gaze turns to the man who just managed to propose to her without saying a word. He stares back at her and continues to not say anything. She, keeping with the silence, slips the ring on her finger, managing to accept without saying a word. It rests there as comfortably as she does in his arms. And then she kisses him until Mellie comes running up. "Mommy, did you see the birds?" she asks. Addison laughs joyfully for absolutely no reason. She can't help it—she's happy.

* * *

**So that last "first" may have been influenced by this last week considering that's when and where I wrote it...**

**And now I have a couple questions for you. Question number one: do you want one more epilogue? Question number two: if I do write another epilogue are there any particular "firsts" you would want to see? Question number three: would you want me to break all laws of probability and probably science and give our favorite couple a little bundle of joy, or should I keep it realistic?**

**These are all things you should write in a review. And I'm not giving you another epilogue unless people tell me they're interested in it, because it's an effort and I have other things to do.**

**-Juli-**


	24. In Which There Is An End

**It's done! It's done, it's done, it's done! And the chapter's long too! I'm excited. You should be too. As a reward to myself, I definitely wrote myself in. But only for one first! I just want to say thank you for all the love and support you've all given this story, it's been amazing and I've never been happier with a story. I can't say just how much all the reviews and compliments have meant to me, but I have a feeling some of you know, so I'm not going to worry about it too much.**

**Oh, and by the way, I took everybody's firsts and looked at them (and they were Mellie's First: Wedding, Bike Ride, Day of School, and Boyfriend), and I had plans for most of them, but then I threw them out, because I found others that I wanted to do. But thanks so much for the input.**

**Also, sorry I skipped the wedding. But I hate writing weddings. Absolutely hate it. So I skipped it.**

**I own Mellie. And myself. I own myself. **

* * *

_**Mellie's First Swim Lesson**_

Mellie stares at the water uncertainly, grasping her mother's hand tightly. Her eyes get wider as a teenager in a red bathing suit walks up.

"Hi," the stranger greets both Addison and Mellie. "I'm Julie." She holds out her hand to Addison. She looks at the toddler. "And you must be Melanie."

"Hi," Addison returns, grasping the girl's hand. "I'm Addison. She actually goes by Mellie. We've called her that forever. I'm not sure she'll actually answer to Melanie," Addison laughs nervously.

Julie nods. "Okay." She kneels to bring herself to Mellie's height. "Hey, Mellie," she smiles. "I'm Julie. Are you ready to go swimming?"

Mellie shakes her head and huddles closer to her mother's side. The ocean with her Daddy is one thing. This scary, big puddle of water with a total stranger is completely different and not okay with her.

"That's okay," Julie says. She looks to Addison. "Can you stay? Sometimes it helps if you just put your feet in the water to show her that it's okay."

"Sure," Addison agrees and does as Julie asks.

Mellie, upon seeing her mother stick her feet in, consents to sit on the steps. Julie smiles. "Awesome! High five!" she exclaims. Mellie tentatively slaps her hand. "Great, okay. Now, see how I blow bubbles?"

After about ten minutes, Mellie is utterly engrossed in blowing bubbles, her naturally fearless disposition doing her mother proud. Addison motions to Julie that she's going to go sit on the pool deck. Julie nods.

For the next fifteen minutes, Addison watches as her daughter becomes more and comfortable with her instructor. She goes as far as to allow Julie to take her off the steps. Addison has the distinct feeling of letting go of her daughter just a little and wishes that Alex were around to bring her out of the slightly melancholy mood. Even though they're not yet married, she finds that she's almost dependent on his smile now. Besides, she knows that he would have the exact same mix of fear and pride that is brewing in her chest right now.

_**Mellie's First Victim**_

Addison and Alex take a four year old Mellie to the park to let her blow off some steam. They've only recently returned to reality after a blissful honeymoon. Neither is quite ready to throw off that blanket of bliss yet, although they've been living together for so long that being married really only manifests itself physically in Addison's name change. And yet, in some unexplained way, being Mrs. Montgomery-Karev is infinitely better than being Ms. Montgomery dating and living with Alex Karev.

Mellie sits in the sandbox, near her parents. She has remained Mellie Montgomery for now. Addison hasn't managed to gather up the courage to ask Mark if he would be willing to let Alex adopt her, and she's not exactly sure she's ever going to, if she's perfectly honest with herself. The current arrangement seems to be working and who is she to upset it?

A little girl a little older than Mellie sits down beside her. "I'm Sarah."

Mellie looks at her new companion. "I'm Mellie. What's that?" she asks, pointing at the girl's cup.

"I'm drinking water," Sarah replies.

Mellie turns to Addison. "Mommy, she's drinking milk," Mellie announces.

"I'm drinking water," Sarah corrects.

"No, it's milk," Mellie argues.

"It's water. I'm drinking water!" she informs Addison.

"Sarah, sweetie, I'm sorry. Mellie's littler than you and she just likes to be right," Addison explains. Then she elbows Alex in the ribs, because he's threatening to start laughing and Mellie does not need the encouragement.

"No, Mommy, she's drinking milk," Mellie insists.

"No! It's water!" Sarah replies, close to tears. "I'm going now. It's _water_!"

"Bye bye," Mellie smiles and waves. The girl storms off and Mellie giggles. Alex can't help himself, he starts laughing too. Addison frowns.

"That wasn't nice, Melanie Rose," she berates.

"But Mommy," Mellie replies, her eyes wide with innocence. "She was _not _sharing, and you always tell me to share! She was _not _sharing her water!"

"That doesn't mean you get to tease her," Addison retorts.

"I'm sorry, Mommy," Mellie apologizes, hanging her head.

Addison really can't stay mad at her daughter when she looks so contrite. "That's okay."

"I want a hug, Daddy!" Mellie exclaims suddenly and throws herself into Alex's arms. Alex laughs and hugs the four year old. He holds out his hand for her to give him a high five.

"Good job, Mellie," he says.

"Don't encourage her," Addison orders. "You sound like you're proud."

"I am," he replies easily.

Addison glares at her husband. "If our daughter turns into a big bully, it will be all your fault," she informs him. "And you had better hope that doesn't happen."

"Why?"

She leans in to whisper into his ear. "Because if it does, you are never getting any sex from me again."

He takes advantage of her proximity to turn his head and capture her lips with his. When they part, he smirks. "Somehow, I don't believe you."

_**Mellie's First Sibling**_

Addison stares ahead, trying to make sense of the news she has just received. She had been okay with the present situation, even happy. And now this.

This goes beyond surprising, straight into downright disconcerting. She isn't ready to deal with this. She hasn't prepared herself. She never thought she would have to deal with this. There was no point in preparing herself. And now somebody's just gone and pulled the rug out from underneath her and she's left flat on her back, gasping for air.

Izzie Stevens is having Mark Sloan's child.

Her best friend is going to be the mother of her daughter's half-sibling. This feels oddly incestuous.

"Maybe I should just get Mark to get me pregnant too," Callie suggests. "Then our kids could all be related." She merely meant it to break the silence that has settled over them since Izzie announced her news (happily, if a little embarrassedly). Clearly this is not the approach to take, as both women glare at her. "Okay, okay, let's put the visual daggers away now. But be realistic," she begs. She turns to Addison. "You can't be mad at Izzie. You gave her permission to date Mark and you're married. You didn't get mad when Derek got Meredith pregnant, you were happy for them. And yeah, it's a little more complicated than that, but aside from the fact that your daughter is going to have a sibling, you have almost no claim to this. And _you_," She turns to Izzie, "are too scared about what Addison thinks, and are coming off like you're not even happy you're pregnant, which is probably not helping Addison be happy for you."

Izzie looks at her friend in shock. "I'm happy!" she exclaims. "Of course I'm happy!" It comes off a little manic and both of her friends scrutinize her. "Okay, so I'm terrified." She looks at Addison pleadingly. "But I really am happy. Happier than I've ever been, and I really would love if just some tiny part of you could be happy for me too."

Addison sighs. "It's not that, Izzie. I'm happy for you. It's just… this is going to sound really bad, but he's always been mine. And it's not that I'm jealous, but it's just weird to think that he's not anymore. Does that make any sense?"

"It make perfect sense," Izzie assures her friend. "It's not like this is going to change anything. He's still Mellie's father, and I can promise that he's that before he's my boyfriend."

Impulsively, Addison reaches over and hugs her friend. Now that she's over the shock of hearing that her friend is going to have her daughter's half-sibling, she actually happy for her. She's happy for both Izzie and Mark when she thinks about it. Izzie has been good for him, she knows that. He's much more grown-up between the efforts of Izzie and his responsibility for Mellie. "You guys are going to be great parents."

"Hey, I'll be happy if we're half as good as you and Alex are."

Addison sighs. "No you don't. The only time Alex and I don't fight is when we're around Mellie."

"You're just going through a rough patch," Callie replies tiredly. They've had this argument so many times she can pretty much predict that Addison is going to say that it's been an awfully long rough patch.

"Well, it seems like it's been forever. I'm tired of it. I don't want to fight anymore."

"So stop fighting," Callie replies. "And it's not like you guys have ever gotten along in the first place. You've said that if you didn't love him you'd absolutely hate him. You guys will get through this. You're getting too freaked out about this."

Addison sighs again. "You're right. I'm being stupid."

Callie laughs. "Amen to that!"

0ooo0

"Um, Addison, I have a really quick question," Izzie announces. It's been about five months since their previous conversation. The only major difference is the size of Izzie's ever-growing frame and the diamond ring currently residing on her finger. When Addison had heard that news, she had freaked out a little again, but a reminder that Mellie was Mark's oldest child, and he's clearly completely captivated by her made it easy to get over any of the weird, possessive jealousy that comes from being best friends and lovers with someone. It's not that she wants to get back together with him, because she loves Alex with everything she has and would never surrender her family, but he was one of her best friends for a really long time and before Mellie was born, he had her convinced that he loved her with everything he could, even if that wasn't enough. But seeing his with Izzie, she knows that he loved her before, but with nowhere near the intensity he feels for her friend.

"Yeah, sure," Addison agrees, looking up from her seat at the nurses' station.

"So, Mark and I were thinking about names," she explains. "And we _finally _managed to pick Cassandra, but we can't decide on a middle name."

"Okay," Addison says, just to show she's following the introduction. Maybe Izzie wants her to play tiebreaker on a name.

"Well, that's not true, actually. Um, the only middle name we can agree on is Addison."

Addison stares at her friend. And stares some more. And some more. "You… you want to name your daughter after me?" she asks.

"Yeah," Izzie says. "If it's okay with you."

Addison blinks. "_Why_?"

"Because you're a huge part of both of our lives, and, if it weren't for you, we wouldn't probably even have her."

Instead of answering, Addison jumps up and hugs her. There aren't any words for just how thrilled she is.

_**Mellie's First Grounding**_

Addison glances at the clock. Her daughter is half an hour past curfew. Ever since Mellie started driving, she's become nervous. The day Mellie got her license Addison had a flashback to her nightmare from sixteen years ago. So she's a little freaked out when her daughter is half an hour late without calling. And aside from that, this is the second time in as many weeks that she's been out past curfew.

The door swings open to reveal Mellie (oh, no, excuse her, _Melanie_, as per her daughter's request), who at least has the decency to look like she knows she's late.

"Where have you been?" Addison asks immediately.

_Melanie _rolls her eyes. "Mom, I was babysitting, you know that. And I know I'm late, but I'm not _that _late. And it's not like I was at a party."

"You could at least call me to let me know you'll be late."

Melanie rolls her eyes again. Addison is getting really sick of the attitude that Melanie seems to have acquired with her sixteenth birthday. "You knew where I was. And I'm only late because I had to give Cassie a ride home too." Melanie is something like Cassandra's role model, and Melanie is perfectly happy to let her tag along to boring things like a babysitting job. Even though Cassandra is only eleven, she and Melanie are really close.

"Don't give me that excuse," Addison snaps. "Cassie lives three minutes away."

Melanie sighs. "I'm not having this argument with you right now," she replies, the annoyance in her voice evident.

"This is the second time in two weeks that you're out way past curfew."

"Yeah, and I'm sorry, but I've had reasons. There's no reason for you to be so freaking annoying about it."

Addison shakes her head in disbelief. They fight all the time now, and she hates it. She just wants her sweet-tempered baby back.

"Don't talk to your mother like that," Alex says, coming into the room.

"Tell her to stop being so annoying then," Melanie retorts.

"Go to your room," he says easily.

She looks at him incredulously. "Really? You're sending me to my room? Seriously?"

"Melanie Rose," Addison speaks up. "If you don't go to your room and drop the attitude right now, I'm just going to ground you."

Melanie looks between her parents. "When did you two become so strict?" She says strict with absolute disgust. "You used to actually be tolerable."

"You're grounded," Addison replies. "Give me your keys."

"What?! No! How am I supposed to get to school?"

"I'll have Cassandra's carpool pick you up. Hand over the keys." Addison holds out her hand and Melanie reluctantly drops her freedom into it.

"You're ridiculous," she spits before going to her room.

Addison closes her eyes, leaning against the wall. That was ridiculously draining. "I'll go talk to her," Alex volunteers. Addison nods without opening her eyes. He kisses her quickly then heads off to talk to the teen.

He knocks to give her some semblance of privacy. She looks up and motions for him to come in. Though she has a temper, it only shows itself in bursts and when she gets a moment to herself it usually disappears quickly. "Hey, Dad."

He sits down next to her on the bed. "Hey." After a minute, he asks, "So where were you really?"

Melanie sighs. "Cassie and I stopped to grab something to eat. We were both hungry."

"So you just didn't call."

"I didn't know it was so late, otherwise I would have! I just don't see why Mom has to go and be super bitchy about it."

Alex keeps his temper in check. He hates hearing anything bad about his wife, particularly from the most important person in her life. "She loves you and you scared her."

"I was out for half an hour. That's not that long."

Alex tries to figure a way to explain why Addison was so worried. "Look, when your mom was pregnant with you, she had this dream that she was hit by a car and you died. Ever since then she gets worried when people aren't where they say they'll be. You're the most important thing to her and she freaks out when you're driving and not home. She doesn't want anything to happen to you."

Melanie sighs. "I didn't know that." They sit in silence. Melanie turns to her dad. "You want to watch a movie? I'm in the mood for a good action flick."

Melanie has never been a model of linear thinking.

"Sure," he agrees. She gets up and pulls a movie from her extensive collection and pops it into her television. She's probably spoiled more than she should be, but she's the only daughter of two surgeons. Money, love, and guilt make it all too easy to spoil her.

Melanie curls up next to her father and lays her head on his shoulder. She looks almost exactly like Addison, although her hair is much closer to blonde than Addison's. "I love you, Dad," she announces.

He's a little taken aback. He hasn't heard that in a really long time. "I love you too, Mellie," he says.

She lifts up her head and smiles. "Mellie doesn't live here anymore, remember?" she reminds him.

"Right. Melanie," he says, feigning seriousness. To everyone in the hospital, especially Addison and Alex, she will always be Mellie.

For someone claiming to be in the mood for an action movie, she sure falls asleep quickly. Alex gets up and turns off the television before putting a blanket over her. He turns to find Addison watching his every move. "Is she mad?" she whispers worriedly.

"Nah," he replies. "She'll be fine." He pulls her into a hug.

She giggles. "You're getting soft," she points out, poking his slightly-less-fit-than-it-was-ten-years-ago stomach.

"And you're…" He trails off. Saying old seems like a really, really bad idea. "Beautiful," he finishes.

"I'm old," she replies. "But thank you for not saying that." She smiles. "I love you."

"I love you too, Adds."

_**Mellie's First Name Change**_

Another six months and Mellie is officially seventeen. With seventeen, she seems to have gained a new appreciation for her parents, and things are much quieter in the Montgomery-Karev household because of it.

Addison and Mellie (who has officially accepted that people are not going to stop calling her Mellie) sit in the living room. Addison is doing research and Mellie is sprawled on the couch, reading a magazine. "Hey, Mom?" Mellie suddenly says.

Addison looks up. "Yes?"

"I was just wondering… I mean… that is… can I change my name?"

Addison frowns. "Change your name?" She's not following.

"I mean, look at the family. I'm Montgomery; you're Montgomery-Karev, and Dad's Karev. It's like listening to a transformation. Montgomery, Montgomery-Karev, Karev. I just… I think I want Dad to actually adopt me. I want to be Mellie Karev. Or at lease Mellie Montgomery-Karev. I mean, do you think Dad would be okay with that?"

Addison grins. "I don't think anything would make him happier. I'll talk to Mark and Alex about it, okay?"

Mellie grins back at her mother. "Thanks." She turns back to her magazine, then decides that she wants something to drink. "I'm getting a soda," she announces. "You want anything from the kitchen."

"No, I'm good," Addison replies.

Mellie gets up from the couch and crosses to her mother's chair. She kisses her on the cheek. "I love you, Mom."

Mellie then heads into the kitchen, so she doesn't see Addison's bright grin.

* * *

**Well, that's the end, for real. That's a little sad. But I would just like to point out that I wrote you a 24 chapter story in about four months. I'm impressed with myself, not going to lie.**

**So, Mellie's First Victim? I definitely did that when I was little. I was not a nice child apparently.**

**Until I have another update on another story, I'll bid you adieu and ask for a review. I would love nothing more than for this story to hit 150 reviews.**

** And until I can ask for reviews again: never eat sour worms, kindly play chess on happy green stools, and please excuse my dear Aunt Sally.**

**-Juli-**


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